Fire chief who tried to save pregnant woman trapped in Elrama house fire shares his story

ELRAMA, Pa. — Jefferson Hills fire chief Brian Chalfant is still healing from injuries sustained trying to save a pregnant woman from a burning building.

Chief Chalfant sat down for an exclusive interview with Cara Sapida saying he credits his protective gear for saving his life. Chalfant was able to rescue the 19-year-old woman and get her into the arms of another firefighter before diving through a second-story window to safety.

“I definitely realized I came close to death myself,” Chalfant said.

His department was one of the backup departments dispatched to a home fully engulfed in flames. Four people were initially reported to be trapped.

“It happened so fast, the whole entire incident happened in five minutes or less. I was just doing what I’m trained to do,” he said.

Sabrina Boyle, 19, was on the phone with 911. Her fiancé and his parents had made it to the roof where they were rescued. Chief Chalfant arrived on scene and was told by the Elrama chief that Boyle was in the bedroom window.

“I asked him, ‘Was everybody out of the building?’ He said ‘No. She’s in that window.’ I asked one of my other guys to throw a ladder.”

Chalfant was able to find Sabrina and hand her off to his firefighter on the ladder. He said that is when there was a flashover.

“Everything, all the contents inside the room ignited. I could actually feel my skin burning,” he said.

Chief Chalfant said he started to go head first down the ladder, a move he’s practiced in training countless times.

“I tried to perform a maneuver that we teach at Fire Fighter Survival with a ladder bailout. As I performed the maneuver. the ladder slid on me so I opted to let go of the latter and just fell to the ground,” the said.

That headfirst fall was caught on camera by a firefighter recording to scene. Chalfant was rushed to the hospital with second and third-degree burns across his shoulders, arms and fingertips. He believes his protective gear saved his life, and encourages all firefighters to be sure to suit up in all the protection.

He said while the medical teams were taking care of him, they said Sabrina had a pulse.

“This is definitely my first time finding someone, extracting them out of the building and unfortunately she passed away several hours later.”

The chief is still off the job recovering from the shoulder burns, and injuries sustained in the fall. He encourages everyone to have a smoke detector in every room, and “get out, stay out” if you find yourself in a fire.

He says like firefighters around the world, he will not hesitate to once again run into a burning building.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 16 years old,” Chalfant said. “This is what I’m trained for. This is what I train firefighters to do, and if I had to do it all over again, I’ll lead the way.”

Sabrina’s future father-in-law told us the home is a total loss. And they are thankful for everyone in the community for their support.

A GoFundMe has been set up for family members needing help to get to Sabrina’s funeral. Click here to donate.

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