A motorist a man believed to be aged 53 was rescued by an off-duty volunteer firefighter from the Mèze fire station on Tuesday at 7.30 pm on the RD 613, in the commune of Loupian, between Bouzigues and Mèze, where he had just set himself alight in his car.
The firefighter, who is in his thirties, suffered second-degree burns to his arms and face whilst pulling the distraught man from the burning vehicle.
“ A heroic act ”
When the SDIS 34 firefighters arrived, the victim’s car was engulfed in flames. After receiving first aid at the scene, the firefighter is to be airlifted to the burns unit at Lapeyronie University Hospital, in Montpellier. The man in his fifties, who has suffered severe burns, will also be airlifted to the same unit.
Approached by Metro This evening, Lieutenant-Colonel Jérôme Bonnafoux of the SDIS 34 headquarters spoke of “&‘the heroic act of this volunteer firefighter from Mèze who, whilst in plain clothes, did not hesitate to rush into the burning car to save the man in distress’.”
The police officers from the company Pézenas are on site to carry out the investigation.