State lawmaker recounts fiery rescue of Richmond County woman

A veteran state lawmaker found himself in a different role Monday night - that of a first responder. His intervention likely saved a woman's life.

And by the end of the week, he had helped her raise thousands of dollars as she seeks to rebuild from nothing.

Rep. Dean Arp, R-Union, was on his way to Raleigh with his wife, Anne, for a meeting. They were traveling along U.S. 1 in Richmond County when he noticed some smoke coming out of a mobile home on the roadside.

"I told my wife, 'Honey,' I said, 'I think that house is on fire'." Arp told WRAL News.

Arp said he turned around in the median and went back to check on the home while his wife called 911. When they reached the mobile home, he saw a woman open the door - and then the door closed again.

"I thought to myself, good lord, there's somebody in there," Arp recounted. "I jumped out of the truck and ran up there and opened up the door, and there was this huge amount of heat just rolled out. I can't overstress the heat."

He got her out just minutes before the home burned down and she lost everything. Arp previously declined to name her out of respect for her privacy, and a fundraiser set up by her family after the fire identifies her only as Esther. Arp shared a link to it on social media Friday, urging his followers to help chip in.

The fundraising page indicates Arp donated $5,000. Several names of other donors on the page match prominent Raleigh lobbyists.

In an earlier interview, Arp said the woman was in a wheelchair. She had gathered a blanket and towels to smother the fire, but the wheelchair had gotten caught up in the blanket.

"She had leaned forward in her wheelchair and had pushed open the door, and it closed back on her," Arp said, adding that the wheelchair was as hot as a pan on the stove.

Arp said was able to pull her out the front door to safety just minutes before the house was fully engulfed. He says the heat and smoke would likely have been fatal even before that.

"It was that black, thick, toxic smoke," he said. "I was about to choke in there."

The woman, who was 77 and battling cancer, was taken to a local hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation. The mobile home was a total loss, Arp said. Two fire units responded, but Arp said he couldn't believe how fast the home burned.

Arp didn't want the story to be about him, and had to be persuaded to tell it. He said he decided to share it because, as he put it, "God was there in such a real way."

"It was just a miracle that we happened to cross paths just at the right time, and something told me to just turn around and go back," Arp said.

The family agrees: "We cannot thank them enough for listening to God's voice to go back and check it out," the fundraiser page states. "We are so grateful for them."