OSI agent saves man from burning to death

  • Published
  • By Mr. James C. Dillard
  • OSI Public Affairs
OSI HQ QUANTICO, Va. --  In today's world, understanding the difference between right and wrong and heroism and cowardice can be a convoluted endeavor.

But, sometimes we do not have the luxury of time to contemplate these ideas - for some people, doing the right thing isn't something that needs to be considered or debated.

When Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Bob Powers heard that there was a fire in a public bathroom, he didn't pause to think about anything else except for how he could help if someone was in trouble. While others ran away from the situation, Powers went straight to the fire with the singular thought of preserving life.

It was late in the afternoon on February 12. Powers and his fiance, Heather, were doing some grocery shopping at a local grocery store in Norfolk, Va., when he heard someone say that there was a fire in the men's room. Several people left the building, concerned about their own safety, but Powers immediately went to the bathroom and entered to check if there was anyone in there.
When he opened the door, he saw an elderly man who was on fire from the waist down.

"All I could see was flames and just the outline of a person," Powers said. "He was obviously engulfed in flames."

The man appeared unable to help himself. Powers held the door open and yelled to the guy to walk toward the sound of his voice, but he wouldn't move and replied that he couldn't.

Powers looked around for a fire extinguisher and luckily there was one outside the bathroom. With the amount of smoke increasing in the small room, he aimed the extinguisher at where he believed the man's legs were and emptied it. The smoke became so thick after that, that Powers could no longer see the man at all.

He pulled his shirt over his mouth and nose and made his way into the bathroom. The smoke burned his eyes and made it difficult to breath, but he was determined to find the man. Luckily, he found him and was able to successfully remove him from the bathroom.

With a store employee holding the door, he guided the man out of the bathroom. The severely injured man was shuffling, because his pants were still down around his ankles and his legs were severely burned.

Someone brought a chair over and they sat him down on it. His shoes and pants were smoldering when he came out of the bathroom, so Powers helped him remove them.

Powers didn't initially understand why the man didn't just come out of the bathroom on his own, but then he saw that the man had a walker with him. Between the pain of the burns, the pants wrapped around his legs and not having his walker, he was simply unable to escape. Powers stayed with the man until rescue services arrived and then departed with his fiance. He would later find out that the man had accidently set himself on fire.

For his heroic efforts that day, Powers was recognized with the Air Force Command Civilian Award for Valor, given to those who go above and beyond to help others. The Norfolk, Va., chief fire marshal credited Powers's quick response and calm actions as what likely saved the man's life.

If you ask Powers why he risked his own safety and possibly life, his answer to you would be a simple one.

"You just do it without thinking because it's the right thing to do," Powers said.