When the emergency room nurses were eating lunch at a Taco Mac restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 3 they spotted a truck across erupt in flames. One of the nurses, Rebecca Martin, called 911. Her two co-workers grabbed a Taco Mac fire extinguisher and rushed to the scene.
The video, which was taken by Martin and posted on Instagram, shows two nurses hosing down the smoking car with a fire extinguisher. Flames from the car seemed to have died down by the time Martin snapped the video. Overall, the scrub-clad co-workers looked to get the whole situation under control. You can watch the six-second recording here.
Luckily, no one appeared to be in the truck at the time of the fire. The nurses’ quick response even saved the truck from being completely totaled. The scenario provides just another reason to give thanks for healthcare workers, who are ready to help at a second’s notice.
This isn’t the only time nurses have stepped up to help with fire-related dangers, either. A Milwaukee nurse showed similar fire-safety skills back in March when he saved a local Walgreens from flames during 2020 looting. Donte White was protesting on behalf of the Black Lives Matter movement, but ran to help his community when some people began lighting the store on fire. He singlehandedly put out the fire, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and was tear-gassed by authorities when he left the store.
Throughout coronavirus, Newsweek has aimed to spotlight the stories of nurses on the front lines of the illness. Some of these stories are hopeful, but most show the dire situation they’re fighting through. In August, we spotlighted a photo of a nurse who took his protective gear off after a 36-hour shift, only to be completely soaked in sweat. The nurse revealed in an interview that he’d been showing symptoms of COVID, but wasn’t allowed to leave work.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, nurses and other medical professionals really are putting their own lives in danger for the sake of others. That’s clear in those facing COVID in the workplace on a day-to-day basis, and even more obvious in Martin’s video of her two coworkers rushing to stop a fire.
