Manteca firefighter Brad Schemper is credited with saving the life of a woman in a smoke-filled home Friday night in north Manteca.
Schemper was part of an Engine 24 team that searched a home on fire in Union Ranch east of the Del Webb community. He discovered an unconscious woman lying in the single family residence where the garage had been consumed by fire. Fire Chief Kirk Waters said the house had filled with smoke.
While one team attacked the blaze in the 900 block of Raccoon Valley Drive, Schemper and other firefighters were focused on finding anyone who might be trapped.
Waters said Schemper “snatched up the woman”  believed to be in her late 30s, taking her  outside to a waiting Manteca District Ambulance unit that had been dispatched to the fire call in case a firefighter was injured.  Medics worked on the woman at the scene to stabilize her before transporting her to an area hospital.  The other members of the rescue team included Captain Kevin Terpstra and Chase Keener.
Chief Waters said he needed to make note of the City Council action that fully staffed Station No. 4 on Lathrop Road earlier this year allowing a fire engine instead of just a rescue squad arriving on scene first.
Waters said that the fully staffed station made all the difference in his department’s response time to the fire scene on Friday night. The new station has been fully staffed since February.
The garage contained a late model BMW sedan that was damaged by the fire. With smoke damage throughout the house the estimated loss exceeded $75,000. The fire and its cause remains under investigation.