Trio Honored for Saving Couple from Fire

Communications Director

Kristin Farley
[email protected]
(865) 215-2589

400 Main St., Room 691
Knoxville, TN 37902

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Trio Honored for Saving Couple from Fire

Posted: 05/06/2009
Last night in during the City Council meeting Firefighters Shawn Bradley and David Gray and Knoxville News Sentinel carrier, Cissy Mutta, received certificates of recognition for saving an elderly couple's life.

About 4:30 a.m. on January 8, Cissy Mutta was finishing her route when she and her daughter noticed flames coming from the Skyline Drive Home of Charles and Sue Vandergriff.

Ms. Mutta tossed her phone to a bystander and told him to call 911 and then ran up to the house and beat on the doors and windows in an unsuccessful attempt to wake the couple.

She then kicked open the door and was going to enter the house before a bystander grabbed her and pulled her away. She called 911 again.

Moments later the Knoxville Fire Department arrived and Master Firefighter Shawn Bradley and Capt. David Gray worked their way through the flames and smoke to reach the couple in a back bedroom and carried them to safety.