Dad Pinned Under Truck In Burning Garage Saved By Teenage Daughter

Talk about super-strength! Charlotte Heffelmire may only be 5’6 and 120 pounds but the soft-spoken 19 year old from Northern Virginia heroically lifted a pickup truck off her father to save him and her family from a dangerous fire.

Charlotte came to the rescue when her dad, Eric Heffelmire, got into trouble while working on an old GMC truck in the family’s home garage. He had just taken one of the tires off when the jack slipped and he got trapped underneath. He told NBC Washington, “The minute the jack slipped, there was an almost instantaneous, real strong smell of gasoline, and then just, whoosh!”

He was struggling to escape as the garage caught fire, but he was stuck. He said that the propane tanks in the garage lit up like “fireballs” and he tried to pry himself loose for 10 minutes before the door flung open and Charlotte appeared in her bare feet.

Charlotte began to lift the truck and Eric describes how he felt it raise up and seconds later he was out from under it!

But Charlotte’s bravery did not end there. Realizing the truck’s gas tank was going to explode and threaten the family’s home with her grandmother and 3-month-old niece inside, Charlotte jumped into the driver’s seat and somehow managed to gun the truck with only 3 wheels away from the house.

Thanks to her actions, her family were able to exit the home and her dad was safe. Charlotte suffered burns to her feet and hands and a back injury that has prevented her from returning to the Air Force Academy, where she was training. The young woman says that if she cannot pursue any of the military branches because of her injury she plans on going into intelligence or government work.

She was given the Citizen Lifesaving Award by the Fairfax County fire department this week.