by Airman 1st Class Alicia Lacy147th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs7/12/2012 – HOUSTON (AFNS) — One moment can change someone’s life.That moment came for Staff Sgt. Mitchell Corbin and Nancy Decker, June 1, when their paths crossed and Corbin pulled Decker from her fiery, wrecked vehicle.Corbin, an aerospace ground equipment technician with the Texas Air National Guard 147th Reconnaissance Wing, was on his way to the airport and Decker was headed to her daughter’s wedding.The entire episode took a few minutes; from the time he pulled up to the toll plaza on Sam Houston Parkway near Wayside to the time emergency personnel arrived and he made his exit, he said.No fanfare. No pomp and circumstance. For a few days following the wreck, no one was able to identify the Good Samaritan who rescued Decker.That morning, vehicle Corbin was riding in approached the toll plaza and he noticedDecker’s overturned vehicle and the flames emerging from the engine compartment. He also heard the screams of a woman alerting onlookers that a woman was in the vehicle, he said.His military training kicked in and without hesitation, Corbin said he was already making his way towards the blazing vehicle.Corbin said he thought there was an easy solution, “I was going to put out the fire and hope that it’d be as simple as that.However, one onlooker was unable to quickly obtain a fire extinguisher, so Corbin had to figure out a way to evacuate Decker from the blaze.”I had to analyze the car and see how I would get her out,” he said.He tried opening the door, but the door was locked. Corbin saw the front passenger window was down enough to slide his arm in to unlock the door, but was unsuccessful.”I knew that none of the doors were opening and I didn’t have any tools to pry the doors open, so I knew I had to break the window,” he said.Another onlooker retrieved a C-clamp and after a few strikes, the rear passenger window shattered. Corbin reached in, but still was unable to open the door.”I realized where it would come to last case scenario,” he said. He would have to break the front window and risk glass falling on Decker.Another onlooker handed Corbin a fire extinguisher, Corbin stood atop the vehicle and began swinging the extinguisher at the window until the glass folded in. By that time, the fire tripled in size and more smoke and heat billowed from the engine compartment, he said.Looking into the vehicle, Corbin said he saw Decker out of her seatbelt and sitting Indian style on the driver side window and he was able to communicate to Decker.”I told her I was there to help and I needed her to lift her hands for me to help her,” he said. “I tried to lift her up the first time and I realized I wasn’t coordinated enough to lift her up and balance myself at the same time to get her out safely with all the glass broken around it.”Taking note of another onlooker ready to help, Corbin said he called him over and they both pulled Decker out.”It’s like a dream,” she said. “I don’t remember any of it. I felt someone pulling me and I heard a soft voice say, ‘watch out for the glass.'”Corbin carried Decker a few yards away and administered the self-aid buddy care training he received in the Air Force. The training gives Airmen the basic lifesaving skills to sustain injured individuals until medical care is available.”I started using training I received for self-aid buddy care to get her to not go into shock or go unconscious,” he said. “We elevated her feet, shaded her, got a cold compress on top of her head, and kept calling her name and had her squeeze one of our fingers to stay with us.””She was fading in and out, but she stayed with us the whole time,” he said.As soon as paramedics arrived, Corbin said he returned to his vehicle continued down the tollway.Corbin said he stopped at a gas station about a mile away to clean his scrapes, hydrate and make phone calls.”I called my girlfriend and mom and told them if they happen to see me on top of a burning car, don’t worry I’m OK and I’ll be making my flight soon,” he said.In regards to recognition, “it didn’t go through my head too much. I didn’t want to confuse anybody anymore,” he said.Decker said she walked away from the wreck with only a concussion and a broken heel.”I admire and respect the military and their training,” she said. “There were other people there who did not know what to do, but he did.””His training helped, but it was his heart that made him stop to help me,” she went on to say.”He’s my guardian angel. He saved my life, but he didn’t go back and boast to anybody.”

Staff Sgt. Mitch Corbin inspects aerospace grounds equipment at the 147th Reconnaissance Wing, Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Houston, Texas. Corbin was recognized for his lifesaving efforts when he pulled a Houston-area woman to safety following a fiery crash. (photo by Master Sergeant Dale Hanson) Photo by