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Modesto Woman Praised For Quick Work Putting Out Fire

MODESTO (CBS13) -- Faced with flames, Carrie Wood didn't think twice before making her way inside the raging inferno to try to save her wheelchair-bound neighbor.

"The door was unlocked so I got it open. … Smoke was just pouring out of there."

Within seconds she realized flames had already taken the 68-year-old's life.

"Once I saw him, I knew there was no saving him," she said.

But there was still time to save neighbors.

"I'm thinking I have to get that fire out, because if it spreads we're going to have a disater," she said.

With the help of two men, the trio got their hands on fire extinguishers

"When I was I out I told them 'I'm out,' and another one dropped down and I was right back to doing the fire again," she said.

The neighbors successfully battled the blaze before firefighters arrived.

"It was this well-oiled machine, no one had to really say anything it was just get in there, get out," Wood said.

Hailed a hero, this isn't the first time Carrie Wood has saved lives or homes. She received a Red Cross Good Samaritan award a couple years ago for putting out a small church fire next door to the apartment complex.

"I don't know what it is about me," she said. "I keep being in the right place at the right time, that's all
I can figure"

Humble to say the least, Carrie admits even veteran firefighters were impressed by her courage this time around.

"They were really happy with us ,they said we went above and beyond," she said. "We're all just happy we have a place to live, you know?"

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