A squadron of expeditionary rescue Marines in Yuma were on their way to a landing field when they caught a glimpse of a stranger in distress.

Their car was stopped off to the side of Interstate 8, and it was ablaze.

According to the USMC website, Corporal Michael Molini was the first to notice the small automobile on fire — plumes of smoke billowing from beneath its hood — and made their military convoy stop immediately, pull off to the shoulder and take action.

While Sergeant Zagros Dawoudi directed traffic away from the smoking vehicle after jumping the median of the busy highway, Molini orchestrated the rescue mission, which led to Private First Class Omar Rodriguez utilizing a chemical fire extinguisher on the glowing car.

After a few moments, however, the squadron realized they needed to do more. One extinguisher wasn’t going to cut it.

That’s when Rodriquez put the canister down, joined Dawoudi on traffic detail, and let Molini bring in the big guns: the P-19, a truck designed to put out military aircraft fires.

Lance Corporals Reece Gembel and James Strickland assisted with this effort, and within minutes the fire was controlled. With the automobile merely smoldering, the Marines handed the effort over to local authorities, and continued on with their original mission: to reach Auxiliary Airfield Stoval.