Oregon: Teens hailed as local heroes for saving woman from burning vehicle

Two Oregon teens are being hailed as heroes after they pulled a woman to safety from her burning car on 18 July, which had crashed into a gas pump.

Local reports say one of the brothers punched one of the vehicle's windows to reach the victim.

According to KMTR 16, the crash occurred at a Chevron service station around 2pm local time. Brothers Phillipe and Raphael Bittar reportedly parked their vehicle to take photos of the Volvo's flames when they noticed the woman inside.

Nineteen-year-old Phillipe then ran to the burning car, where he saw that the woman had managed to move from the drivers seat to the passenger side.

"The woman, she was just panicking inside the car and I told her, 'I'm going to get you our of here as fast as I can,'" Phillipe said. "I just punched the window and I took her out. I picked her up and dave her to her friends."

Raphael continued, "The flames were already starting to creep into the back seat, and after we got her out and go her behind the building for safety, we came back (and) the flames were already out of the front seat."

The woman,who suffered from smoke inhalation, was taken to hospital and was expected to recover, the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue said.

KMTR reported that Phillipe, who is an Oregon State student, suffered minor injuries during the rescue.

Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Leonard Damian praised Phillipe for his daring actions. "Had this individual not broken out the window and pulled the patient out of the burning car and to safety, I don't believe she would have survived. His actions were nothing short of heroic," Damian said.

Philipe insist he was doing "what any person's supposed to do."

While the brothers worked to save the trapped woman, bystanders took photos and videos on their phones, KMTR reported.

"I was expecting for everybody to be safe because there was nobody trying to intervene or anything," Phillipe said. "So I just kind of came over here and I was like, 'Oh wow that's a pretty bad fire.' I didn't realise there was somebody in the car until a woman ran up and my brother's like, 'There's a woman in there.' And I was like, 'Let's go.'"

The heroic teen told KPTV that there were around six bystanders videotaping the crash without helping the woman.

KPTV reported a Chevron employee turned off the gas pump after the crash to prevent the fire from expanding. The crash is being investigated by the Washington County Sheriff's Office.