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Off-duty New Smyrna Beach firefighter Rosalee Rositer had just completed an 24-hour shift last week and was on her way to Daytona State College, where she serves as an adjunct instructor, when a car carrying an elderly couple veered off I-95 near Port Orange, crashed into a grove of roadside trees and caught fire.

“I actually witnessed it happen,” Rositer said. “The moment I realized the occupants weren’t getting out and the vehicle was on fire, my training took over. I truly went into autopilot.”

Rositer and others who stopped were able to get the couple out of the vehicle and care for them until emergency medical services crews arrived.

“Helping people in need is why I got into this profession,” she said. “In that moment, I simply did what I hope anyone with the training and ability would do.”

Rositer graduated from Daytona State’s Emergency Medical Services program in 2017 and now serves as the lead laboratory adjunct instructor in the College’s Paramedic program, in addition to her job with the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department.

“One of the things I try to teach my students is that, as EMS professionals, we have the opportunity to impact people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives,” Rositer said. “We aren’t there to carry their grief – we’re there to help them through it.”

In addition to serving as an adjunct instructor, Rositer is working toward a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Daytona State.

Watch the WESH 2 News coverage of the rescue here: https://bit.ly/CoupleRescued
To learn more about programs offered as part of Daytona State’s School of Emergency Services, visit https://bit.ly/DSC_EmergencyServices

Florida College System Council of Presidents