Medical Lake man saves neighbor from Gray Fire

MEDICAL LAKE — In the midst of the chaos Friday, Aug. 18, one local man stared through the danger to save his disabled neighbor.

Tyler Lust was at work in Cheney when he got word of the evacuation notices for his neighborhood in Medical Lake.

“I heard that Greengate Road was being evacuated, so I raced home because I have two dogs I wanted to save,” Lust said. “On my way out, I noticed my neighbor was pretty hysterical in her yard.

“I asked if she needed help, and she said her husband was stuck in the house and couldn’t get out.”

Leisa Anderson Eining was calling for help, and Lust said he went into autopilot as the fire was bearing down.

Lust, 39 said he went inside and found the gentleman stuck in his recliner.

But with physical limitations, he was not able to get up on his own.

Eining said she was hysterical and had no idea how Lust was able to get her husband out of danger like that.

Lust said the intensity of the situation forced him to simply act — he reached down, bear-hugged the man and lifted him out of the chair.

“I didn’t even really have time to think about it,” Lust said. “The fire was only 10 to 20 feet from their back window.

“So, I just lifted him up and set him in his power chair so he could get out to the road.”

Lust said he was just doing what any caring neighbor and human would do.

Another man helped get the gentleman into a vehicle and evacuated, Lust said.