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(Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell) Fiery rescue Fast-acting neighbors pull a wheelchair-bound Sams Valley man to safety after his house catches fire on Saturday By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Quick-thinking Samaritans braved a burning house to rescue a wheelchair-bound man crying for help in Sams Valley Saturday night. Albert Gallmeyer, 62, was listed in critical condition Sunday evening at Providence Medford Medical Center. A 9-week old Australian shepherd appeared to have died in the Winetka Avenue blaze and possibly two cats, according to Fire District 3 officials. Neighbor Todd Munroe, 31, said he saw the flames just before 8 p.m. as he and friend Brad Maxey of Rogue River were trying out a new billiard room he'd built. "Todd flew over there like he had a cape on," said Munroe's wife, Sequoyah. "He's a real superman." Munroe fell through ice in a ditch and found himself waist deep in water as he tried to get to the back side of the burning house. When he reached the home, he, Maxey and neighbors struggled to get Gallmeyer, a double amputee, off the back porch, making their way through bicycles and other debris as they fended off embers. Advertisement "I could hear him crying for help," said Munroe, who could feel the heat from the fire about 100 feet away on the road. "The whole front of the house was up in flames." Munroe said a burning board dropped from the ceiling and landed about a foot from Maxey. Another neighbor, Ira Rambo, arrived to help lift Gallmeyer, followed by Todd's father, Ron Munroe, and an unidentified neighborhood boy. Referring to Ira Rambo, Munroe said, "He's a real Rambo." Don Hickman, deputy fire marshal of Fire District 3, said, "The true heroic effort was the three or four guys who got involved." The structure was completely destroyed along with a trailer and storage unit. Hickman said damage to the small house was estimated at $75,000 and there was $20,000 more in damage to the contents. The remains of the dog and the cats were not found as of Sunday. According to Hickman, Gallmeyer told investigators he was in his living room when he knocked over the oil lamp. Then he tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher, but it ran out of propellant. Hickman said Gallmeyer could only make his way to the back porch instead of the front porch, which has a wheelchair ramp. "The fire was all around him," he said. "The structure was starting to come in." At this point, neighbors heard him crying out. Munroe said the cry was all too familiar to him. Four years ago, on Mount Ashland he had an accident while snowboarding. He fell into a pocket of deep snow that almost buried him and thought he'd been paralyzed from the waist down. Alone, he cried for help for an hour and a half. "I've cried that same cry and somebody came for me," he said. When rescuers arrived, they discovered he'd been impaled on a wooden stump. The stump had to be cut off and Munroe said he was rushed to the hospital to have it removed. He's still recovering from the injury. Munroe, whose face was peeling slightly from the intense heat, said his lungs still hurt from the smoke and he had back pain from the effort to lift Gallmeyer. Munroe said Maxey, had to break down a small fence to get access to the back porch. Even when they reached Gallmeyer, who was unclothed, they weren't sure they could get him off the porch safely. "We were trying to pull him over this stuff," said Munroe, pointing to the debris. Once they'd moved him several feet, neighbors pitched in to help. As soon as Gallmeyer was clear of the house, neighbors found blankets to keep him warm before emergency crews arrived. Sequoyah, Munroe's wife, said she and her husband would like to set up a fund to help Gallmeyer, who she said appeared to have lost everything. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476 or [email protected] . 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