A heroic home health worker died in a Delphi home fire while trying to save her 71-year-old paraplegic patient.
Fire Marshal’s spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue said according to the surviving patient 64-year-old Gwendolyn Theus sprang into action once she noticed the fire and attempted to wheel her patient out of the house. When that failed she dragged the patient out of bed and was trying to pass them through the window to the neighbors. Rodrigue says it was some point after that that Theus likely inhaled too much smoke, and perished before she could get the patient through the window.
Firefighters arrived soon after and recovered the patient. They are expected to make a full recovery.
Rodrigue said Theus put her patient’s life before her own when she could’ve saved herself.
“We are just heartbroken to have to tell this story but it is just a true testament to the dedication of this healthcare worker,” said Rodrigue.
The home did have functioning smoke detectors but the survivor indicated the fire spread rapidly after it began.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Rodrigue said that’s largely because the home smoldered and burned for days after it initially caught fire on Monday.
“With a fire going for three, four days smoldering a lot of the things that would have given us the tell-tale signs have really just been reduced to rubble,” said Rodrigue.
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