Haleigh Rosa, who is paralyzed from the waist down, captured the moment members of the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue carried her up 13 flights of stairs after the elevator broke in her apartment building. The video she documented was posted on her TikTok and has since gone viral.
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On Wednesday, Rosa, a former television reporter in North Dakota, stopped by their station to thank them. Captain Michael Bloomberg explained why the building's elevator was broken at the reunion.
"They had a water leak in the building and destroyed several floors," he stated. "It flooded one of the elevator shafts and made it inoperable, so a few hours later, we get a call for someone who needs to get out of the building and is in a wheelchair."
Rosa has been in a wheelchair for eight years.
"I was stuck in my actual unit because the elevators weren't working since there was a flood," recalled Rosa. "I guess the elevators were below where the flood was so I had no way of getting out of the building."
Her building called the fire rescue to help get her out.
"She was on floor 31 but the only working elevators only took us to floor 44," said Bloomberg. "We had a choice of going up 13 floors or going down 21 [floors] so we decided to go up 13 floors."
Firefighters Johnny Jones and Chance Davis took turns as they carried her up the stairs. They said the rescue was a true team effort; one of them carried Rosa, while the other handled her wheelchair and bags.
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"We just decided to go up 13 flights," remarked Davis. "Me and Johnny each did half. The captain was able to carry Louis Vuitton bags and we got her up."
The team got her up and out safely and for that, Rosa was grateful.
"They did a great job, love them, but I think the bigger issue is accessibility in buildings should be, you know, more explained, maybe, so people like me have more options, better options," said Rosa.
In the meantime, she'll keep enjoying her 31st-floor apartment and the view.
"We try and consider everybody as a family member, and how I would want them or someone to treat my family member, and so we always try to do the right thing," said Johnny Jones with FLFR.
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