Survivor thanks Windsor firefighters for dramatic rescue

Windsor Fire Captain Laz Sofikitis said it’s rare to see a happy ending when they’re told someone is trapped inside a burning building – but there was one Wednesday.

That’s when Jeff Anger stopped by Fire Station #7 to thank the firefighters and paramedics who rescued him from a house fire on May 26.

“I've never been more scared in my life,” Anger recounted.

Anger was inside a friend’s home on Prado Place when the fire broke out.

The Ontario Fire Marshall is still investigating the cause of the fire and has not yet determined the extent of the damage. However, the damage remains visible on the boarded-up house two months later.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation at the home on Prado Place in Windsor, Ont. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

Anger said he would never forget that day, although the details were a blur. He was rendered unconscious before fire crews arrived.

“It was one of the most wild experiences I've been through,” he said.

“I just woke up from a coma seven days later and was reminded of where I was and what happened.”

Captain Sofikitis and two of the firefighters who helped pull Anger out that day – Steve Peters and Zach Livingston – were among the first responders honored by the city on Wednesday, as Anger expressed his gratitude.

They vividly recalled the conditions inside the burning home.

“There's zero visibility. It's like if you close your eyes,” Peters recounted.

“There's a sense of unknown because we've never been in that structure. We don't know how the layout is.”

Peters noted that the combination of thick smoke and intense heat raised the already high stakes of the rescue.

This wasn't lost on Anger, who was emotional as he thanked the team.

“I’m just the most grateful man in the world that I get to see the heroes that pulled me out of the fire,” he said.

Jeff Anger smiles with the firefighters who saved his life. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)