Photo by Philip Stahl Wheeling firefighters work to extinguish a vehicle fire that sent the driver to the hospital as well as two police officers who suffered minor injuries while pulling the man from the vehicle.

WHEELING — Three local first responders put their own safety at risk to rescue a Moundsville man from his burning pickup truck late Sunday.

Wheeling police officers Ryan Moore and Harry Meyers along with off-duty Assistant Fire Chief Paul Harto arrived on McColloch Street to find a man inside his burning truck near the intersection with Lind Street just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Wheeling police spokesman Philip Stahl said when Moore arrived, the vehicle’s back wheels were spinning as the driver’s foot was still on the accelerator. Officials are investigating whether the driver suffered a medical emergency or if there were other factors that may have caused the vehicle to crash.

Stahl said Moore attempted to break the window on the vehicle as Meyers and Harto arrived. After cutting the driver’s seatbelt, Meyers and Harto were able to get the truck door open and pulled the man from the burning vehicle. The driver was unconscious and Moore began performing CPR on him until paramedics arrived, Stahl said.

The 45-year-old driver was taken to Ohio Valley Medical Center for unspecified injuries.

The condition of the driver was not available at press time.

Moore and Meyers were transported to Wheeling Hospital where Stahl said they were released after being treated for minor cuts and smoke inhalation. Harto, who lives on McColloch Street, was not injured.

The fuel from the car spread into the yard where the crash happened and caught some plastic piping on fire of a nearby business. Wheeling firefighters extinguished the blaze.

The name of the driver of the truck was being withheld this morning while the Wheeling Police Department investigates the cause of the crash.