Man rescues boy, mom, from burning home in Wyoming

GREEN RIVER, Wyoming (AP) — A stranger pulled a Sweetwater County woman and her four children to safety after their home caught fire early Tuesday morning.

A house on the 1600 block of Wyoming Highway 374 in Jamestown, west of Green River, caught fire sometime before 4:30 a.m. The fire was likely started by one of the kids’ hoverboards, a kind of electronic scooter, according to the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.

Green River resident Ryan Pasborg, 32, was on his way to work when he smelled smoke and spotted the blaze. Pasborg pulled over, and watched three kids make their way out of the home, the sheriff’s office said in a Thursday news release.

The children told Pasborg their 34-year-old mom and little brother were still in there, and needed help, the Casper Star-Tribune reported.

Pasborg entered the home through the garage. The smoke was obscuring his vision, so he “crawled on his hands and knees” until he found the 4-year-old, whom he carried to safety, according to the release.

It was below zero that day, so Pasborg put the kids in his truck to warm up. Then he went back in the house.

When he found the woman, she was unresponsive. After dragging the woman outside, Pasborg was able to perform “lifesaving measures” to get her breathing again, the release said.

He waited with the family in their driveway until crews arrived on the scene.

The woman, 34, was flown in critical condition to a regional medical center to be treated for severe burns. A 4-year-old child suffered minor burns.

The two were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. The woman was later flown to the University of Utah Burn Center in Salt Lake City.

Pasborg later spent “several hundred dollars” of his own money to deliver the family clothing and other supplies while they sheltered at their grandmother’s house, said Deputy Jason Mower, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

“You know, as a police officer, most of the stories I remember involve bystanders helping first responders in difficult situations,” Mower said in the release. “I think this is the first time in nearly 15 years of law enforcement that I’ve ever heard of a total stranger truly going above and beyond in a way and in a situation that many wouldn’t have dared to face.”

The sheriff’s office said Tuesday the woman’s husband was at work when the fire broke out.

The sheriff’s office has not identified the family.