Airman pulls man from burning building

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Michael Farris
  • 353rd Special Operations Group Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFPN) --  When fire roared through an off-base house here, the actions of a 1st Special Operations Squadron pilot saved a 94-year-old man's life.

Capt. Tom Geiser was on a cordless phone late April 2 outside his house about three kilometers from Kadena Air Base.

"I saw smoke rising from a house about 50 yards away," he said. "But I figured someone was burning garbage or leaves. I didn't think much of it at first."

The 32-year-old MC-130H Combat Talon II pilot mentioned to his wife that there was a fire and he was going to investigate. He started walking, barefoot, toward the smoke. He met his friend, Scott Zimber, an Army and Air Force Exchange Service employee, who was outside walking his dog on the clear, cool April evening.

"About 20 yards down the road, we realized the smoke was coming from ojisan's house," Geiser said.

Ojisan is an endearing term for "old man" in Japanese. The 94-year-old Japanese man is well known and well liked around the neighborhood, according to Geiser, and has a penchant for anything that grows.

"Every square inch of his property is covered in flowers and vegetables," he said. "The ground is terraced, and there are planters, buckets and bamboo runners everywhere."

His house was on fire.

"We could see smoke billowing from the outline of the doors and windows, the glow of flames through the bedroom window and heard the fire crackling inside," Geiser said. "We could hear ojisan yelling for help."

The two Americans pulled on the locked door and found security bars on all the windows. They ran around to the back of the house and found a chest-high window into a utility room with no security bars.

"We could hear ojisan's voice getting weaker with each moan," Geiser said. "I smashed the window and Scott got a flashlight from a neighbor. I climbed through the window and was choked by the suffocating smoke."

Geiser took off his shirt and used it to cover his mouth and eyes. He dropped to his knees and tried to follow the moaning voice in the dark, unfamiliar house. Having arrived in Japan only two months earlier from Ramstein AB, Germany, he had little experience in Japanese homes.

"Almost immediately, I had to close my eyes," he said. "I dropped to my stomach because the air was a little cleaner down there."

Geiser low-crawled around the utility room and into a long hallway. After what seemed like 20 minutes, but was likely three or four, he reached ojisan.

"That foray into a burning house with my eyes closed, crawling around on my stomach, was nothing compared to the frustration of not knowing where ojisan was or where the hall turned or where the kitchen table was. Navigating in there was a real challenge."

Apparently ojisan had tried to fight the fire but was overcome by smoke and flames. He rested against the wall of the hallway directly opposite the burning room. The man was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall and struggling for breath. His pulse was strong, but his breathing was heavily labored. Geiser took a deep breath, stood up, grabbed ojisan under his arms and started backing out of the house.

"My hands were full, and I made the mistake of holding the flashlight in my mouth," he said. "My first inhalation reminded me why I had been holding my breath."

Zimber, who was standing outside the broken utility window, eventually saw the flashlight's beam through the smoke and guided Geiser through the dark room to an exterior door. Geiser unlocked the door from the inside and the two tumbled out.

"Scott and I took ojisan to a spot on the front lawn where we could stretch him out and assess his injuries," Geiser said. "I saw my wife, Daisy, and a few neighbors waiting to help while other neighbors fought the growing fire with garden hoses. Ojisan started looking better almost immediately."

The neighbors clapped with approval. After noticing cuts on Geiser's feet, another neighbor removed shards of glass from his feet and back and swabbed the wounds with alcohol and iodine.

Ojisan did not say anything but looked at Geiser with his palms pressed together, in praying fashion, and held them near his face.

After the ambulance pulled away, Geiser and his neighbors sat around talking until the last fire investigator left, about 1 a.m.

"I admire the way everyone pitched in to help," Geiser said. "Nobody was standing around gawking -- everyone helped. That impressed me. Fortunately ojisan was in good health. If not ... who knows? The next day, I took the bars off one window on each end of my house."

Ojisan was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns. He was released the next morning.

Geiser received a call as he prepared for work the following day.

"My unit called and said I had to go to the Okinawa city police station that afternoon," he said.

The Okinawa police presented Zimber and Geiser with certificates of appreciation as a dozen neighbors and family members watched.

Chief Hiroshi Fuzato, the head of Okinawa police station, said, "Your courageous act saved a life. We deeply appreciate you."

Ojisan's house is made of concrete, so it remained structurally strong. The fire, however, consumed much of the contents of the back of the house, and there was heavy smoke and water damage.

Geiser said his training paid off during the rescue. The fundamentals of first aid seem second nature to most servicemembers, and often people do not appreciate their own preparation.

"Until someone without that training is amazed that we know how to treat for shock or check an airway," he said.

According to a police report, the fire started when ojisan tried to light incense in his bedroom. Thanks to the quick actions of Geiser, he is alive to plant another day.