Car fire video posted by Georgetown firefighters receives viral response

GEORGETOWN, Texas - Georgetown Fire Department firefighters extinguished a car fire last week.

The call, along I-35 near the Leander Highway exit, was worked by the B-shift from GFD Station 1. Among those on the scene was firefighter Jeremy Love.

"It definitely feels like it goes faster when you are there in the moment, watching it back over again you kind of see what everybody was doing at the moment, everyone has got their particular job depending on what seat you are wiring in," said Love.

Firefighter Tyler Paulus broke the car windows and punctured the tires to prevent a roll off if the brakes failed. 

"First and foremost, I was thinking, is anybody in the car. There was no indication that everybody was out. There was nobody on scene, doors were locked, windows were up so, my first concern was making sure nobody was in the car," said Paulus.

Paulus recorded the video with his body camera. He typically documents call-outs to help later with training. 

The Georgetown Fire Department posted the incident on its Facebook page as part of community outreach, and it sparked a quick-viral response. 

By Monday, July 3, the video had more than 3,000 views. Music was added to the video, and the reaction to the posting is not exactly what these veteran first responders were expecting.

"I really am surprise because we get car fires pretty regularly, I think our officers that day just had his camera on and got to catch a lot of interesting footage that more people doesn’t get to see regularly," said Love.

Paulus was also surprised. "I’m sure in the civilian world, it looks intense and scary, but for us it’s a bread and butter deal," he said.

The driver of the car was not hurt, they moved away from the fire, and not everything was lost.

"Yeah it was a weird situation, because I was trying to reach into the car and get the belongings because sometimes people leave their purse in there and maybe their cellphone. I was trying to grab some of that real quick before it got ruined or destroyed by water or fire," said Love.

Georgetown police and TxDOT HERO truck operators were also credited with helping provide a safety zone around the incident.