UPS Driver Was Being Mauled By 4 Pitbulls – But A Man Wouldn’t Open Gate For Fire Chief, So He Channeled Inner Police Officer
Orting Valley Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Steve Goodwin rammed a gate to save a UPS Driver.
Orting Valley Fire Chief Rams Gate To Save UPS Driver
Pierce County, WA – When a man locked a fire chief out from responding to a UPS driver being attacked by four pit bulls, he rammed the gate to save the driver.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, September 13, according to KOMO News. A 911 dispatcher received a frantic call for help from a UPS driver, who was not identified, and who said he was being mauled by four pit bulls. He also told the dispatcher that he was injured, and had jumped on top of a four-foot trailer to get away from the dogs.
Steve Goodwin, Orting Valley Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief, said that he was the first to arrive on scene. When he arrived at the scene, he said “I was pretty scared that he was going to get pulled off of the trailer. He had a dog that was latched on pretty well.”
The homeowner had his property fenced, and there was a big gate at the entrance. Goodwin said he drove up to the gate, pushed the call button, and asked whoever was inside repeatedly to open the gate.
He said “They would not comply with what I requested and [I] looked up again and decided it was time to go get him.”
Goodwin took his fire department SUV, drove through the gate, and drove up to the trailer that the UPS driver had taken refuge on. He got close enough to the driver to allow him to be able to slide through the passenger window into the SUV.
He said that he is unable to understand why someone would not let him in to help the UPS driver.
A neighbor, Ariel Atkins, said “I honestly think that’s kind of ridiculous. If he was up on a trailer trying to get away from these dogs, he needed some help.”
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and local animal control officers are investigating what happened. Pierce County ACO Brian Boman said “If somebody is in the process of actually being attacked by animals and they’re refusing aid and allowing us to intervene, that’s one of those that’s almost ‘obstruction.”
People who claim to know the dogs’ owners said that the UPS driver should not have been inside the fence. They also said that there were ‘beware of dog’ signs, but local media who went to the scene couldn’t find any.
It’s not known why Goodwin wasn’t allowed inside the gate when he asked.
The UPS driver was injured, and is recovering from those injuries. The pit bulls are being held in quarantine until it’s decided if the owner will get them back.
