BELINGTON, W.Va. – After rescuing a woman from a burning home in Belington, the chief of that volunteer fire department will have heart surgery.
On March 4, firefighters were holding a fundraiser at the fire station in Belington when they were called to a fire with entrapment on Talbott Road. Chief of the Bridgeport and Belington Volunteer Fire Departments, Phil Hart, ran into the home with no protective equipment and pulled the woman out of the burning home.
Hart was flown to J. W. Ruby Memorial Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation after the rescue.
Hart said doctors were concerned that the amount of smoke he took in could cause cardiac problems. Subsequent tests showed an obstruction in one of his coronary arteries. That’s when doctors decided the catheterization procedure should be done.
Hart expressed relief that doctors determined the problem could be corrected.