Airman saves woman from burning car Published June 30, 2011 MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Second Lt. Rachel Fesmire is new to the Air Force with only nine months in but already she has demonstrated her courage under fire, literally. Lieutenant Fesmire, a clinical nurse from Lackland Air Force Base attending the Air and Space Basic Course here at Maxwell, said she was returning to base on Sunday from a trip to Florida when she came upon a burning vehicle on a two-lane country road. Four young children and an elderly woman darted away to safety. Running to the burning car to offer further assistance, Lieutenant Fesmire said she discovered another woman in the rear of the vehicle trapped by her seatbelt. She entered the burning car to assist the woman, and with flames from the undercarriage burning up through the rear seat next to the trapped woman, Lieutenant Fesmine managed to release the seatbelt and pull the woman to safety. Lieutenant Fesmire credited her training with helping her respond quickly to the emergency. "I just felt it was my duty to assist her in her time of need," she said. "I immediately assessed her health and medical status. I definitely attribute my readiness to respond to my training as an Air Force nurse and most of all to being a wingman." The car became entirely engulfed in flames within about two minutes of the rescue, Lieutenant Fesmire said, and by the time the fire department arrived 15 minutes later, the car was destroyed. Lieutenant Fesmire is surprised by all the attention and questions, "I didn't think. I just did it," she said. "It isn't that big a deal." "Honestly, I didn't have time to process what was going on," she said. "My only thought was that the car was burning and she needed help getting out right then. I just did what I hope anyone would do for me or my family." Courtesy of ASBC's 29th Student Squadron