FAYETTEVILLE — A 92-year-old Fayetteville man was pulled out of his burning home through a bedroom window by his son-in-law Monday evening.
Paul Pannell, a World War II veteran born in 1921, was taken to the Washington Regional Medical Center for treatment of minor smoke inhalation and injuries sustained when his son-in-law broke his window and pulled him through, Washington County Fire Marshal Dennis Ledbetter said Tuesday.
“Nothing serious, but you know, he got cut up a little bit,” Ledbetter said.
Bill Meissinger, the son-in-law, lives next door to Pannell on Rom Orchard Road between Fayetteville and Goshen. He said he first thought it was a prank when his neighbors’ frantic knocking woke him up. There was no mistaking the roar of the fire.
“There were flames on this side of the house that were 40 feet in the air, probably,” he said, pointing to the home’s charred remains Tuesday morning.
The house was a total loss. Everything but the brick shell was destroyed. The entire yard was soaked through and every inch of the house coated in ice from firefighters’ efforts.
Meissinger said he grabbed an extension ladder and smashed it through Pannell’s bedroom window. Gray smoke billowed out and he couldn’t see, even with his flashlight. He hollared several times for Pannell, he said, but got no response.
Then he remembered that Pannell had fought through the Battle of the Bulge and still dreams of it. Meissinger called out his rank: “Command Sgt. Maj. Pannell!”
“‘What, what’s going on?’” Meissinger said he heard immediately. “I said, ‘You gotta get to this light!’ As soon as I felt his hand the war was on.”
Once he got Pannell out, Pannell seemed somewhat bewildered and said he was cold, Meissinger said, so they waited in Meissinger’s house for the ambulance.
The cold proved a challenge for fire fighters, too, Ledbetter said. And, the fire restarted again early Tuesday morning. Fayetteville assisted with the second round, said Brad Hardin with the Fayetteville Fire Department. But no fighters were injured.
“It was a tough night, a tough morning,” Ledbetter said.
He added the fire’s cause is unknown. Meissinger said he suspected a wood stove, but pointed out that the stove was still largely intact.
“We’re going to have to go back out at some point, when things thaw out a little bit,” he said.
As for Pannell, Meissinger said he’d been transfered to the Mercy Burn Center in Springfield, Mo., because of some damage to his throat.
Meissinger said he’d recently buried his stepfather and wasn’t ready to bury another family member Monday night. He said the family was considering having a trailer or small mobile home put near the house while it’s rebuilt for Pannell.
Meissinger gave credit to God for the rescue.
“It looks like it’s going to be a happy ending,” he said. “We’re already blessed that he’s still around.”