PITTSBURGH — A veteran firefighter told Channel 11 News Tuesday that he didn’t think twice Sunday when he saw a vehicle trapped in flood waters.
Jack Klein said he was driving home with his wife in a torrential downpour when they noticed the flood gate wasn’t down on Washington Boulevard. He then saw the vehicle, which was occupied by Mary Hiles and her three daughters.
“(I was thinking) not good,” Klein said.
He jumped into action.
“I scooped the two girls out of the back seat who were pretty much hysterical. They were hysterical, and a little girl said, ‘What about my dolly?’ And I said, ‘Bring your dolly,’” Klein said. “I told the mother, ‘Grab your older daughter. Come on. Let's go now. Leave everything behind.’”
He said it didn’t take long before the water reached the vehicle’s roof.
“(It took) three to five minutes before the car was underwater,” Klein said.
Hiles, who is from Butler County, said
[ she was driving home from Kennywood with her daughters when they got stuck ]
. She said she is forever grateful to Klein.
“We owe you our life, and I mean, it happened so fast. It could've been bad, so thank you so much,” she said.
Klein downplayed his heroic efforts.
“I'm not the kind of person that goes for accolades. This is what we do. I would think that any of our brothers and sisters in uniform would do this,” he said.