STOCKTON, Calif. — Stockton resident Dorothy Wyatt met for the first time on Monday with the first responders who happened to spot the smoke from an apartment fire that almost claimed her life.
Representatives with the American Medical Response (AMR) said they were honored Wyatt reached out to them following the Feb. 17 fire.
As it turns out, she wasn't able to catch a glimpse of the people who saved her.
"I've been waiting, trying to visualize their faces because I haven't seen them," Wyatt told ABC10. "Now I can see them and it's awesome—to see the person who saved your life."
After an on-duty ambulance with the AMR went into Wyatt's apartment despite not having protective equipment, EMTs were able to drag her out.
The ambulance crew was able to treat a severely-burned Wyatt and send her to San Joaquin General Hospital for stabilization. She continued to recover in the burn unit at UC Davis Medical Center.
Now, first responders honored her story with a commemorative plaque and other ceremonial awards for those involved in saving her.
"I kept pounding and pounding (the door). I wasn't quite sure if somebody was in there, but something guided me from above saying, 'Come here. Come help out,'" said Dennis Smallie of Calidad Services Security.
Wyatt said on Monday she was glad the ambulance crew didn't wait for firefighters and instead acted on their own volition.
"It's a job, but they took it upon themselves—because they didn't have to do it," she said.
