Firefighters who saved woman from sinking car honored: 'We all took an oath to do this'

ORLANDO, Fla. - The FOX 35 Care Force is honoring some heroic firefighters from Orange County Fire Rescue Station 42 in Pine Hills who rescued a woman from a sinking vehicle.

On April 10, bystanders witnessed a car begin to sink into a retention pond off Silver Star Road in Orlando as fire rescue crews dove into the water to save the woman inside.

Fortunately, this pond is right next to Orange County Fire Station 42 in Pine Hills, and one of their own saw the whole thing happen.

"Just got back from washing the dishes and I decided to go look at the road and the weather, and then I see the car make a U-turn and go straight into the canal," firefighter Daniel Diaz said. "So then as soon as I saw that I ran right into the station where everyone was sitting at the table and let them know what was going on."

Officials said the entire ordeal was less than five minutes from the time of the crash, the rescue and the car becoming completely submerged.

As seen on body camera footage, firefighters were able to pull the driver out of the car’s open window moments before it sank.

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"When I was on the shore, I could physically see the car sinking quickly, and I was yelling at her to get out, but she wasn’t climbing out of the window," Lt. Amber Lugo said. So I just jumped in and swam out. And then my firefighters grabbed some equipment and swam out behind me not long after, and we were able to get her out quickly and without any incident. So I’m grateful for that."

Their quick thinking and action before the 911 call even came in made a difference when every second counts.

Officials said the woman rescued from the water was taken to the hospital and was lucky to escape without injury.

"It’s part of our training to act when we see it," Fire Chief Antonio Demings said. "We all took an oath to do this."

Two crew members were presented with Distinguished Service Awards for entering the water, and unit citations were also awarded to all crew members who responded to the call.

Going above and beyond to save a life, these heroes call it another day on the job.