Video: Deputy Douglas Duvall Recounts Seffner Sinkhole Heroics

The only thing Deputy Douglas Duvall knew when he arrived at 240 Faithway Drive in Seffner on Feb. 28 is what he had heard from his dispatcher, that "somebody was trapped under a house."

"The family was outside, everybody was upset," said Duvall, a five-year veteran of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, at an early evening press conference March 1 near the sinkhole-plagued home in Seffner.

"I entered the house, really didn't know what was going on," he added. "I went into the hallway, and when I turnd into the bedroom, the only thing that I saw was a hole."

He also witnessed the heroics of Jeremy Bush, 34, who had jumped into the hole moments earlier in a fervent rush to aid his brother, Jeffrey Bush, 36, who, according to his sister-in-law Amber Wicker, had called out earlier: "Jeremy, help me! Jeremy, help me!"

• See Family Member Recalls 'Horror' of Seffner Sinkhole Tragedy

"I saw Mr. Bush, Jeremy Bush, in the hole, he was on the sides, trying to get out," Duvall said.

"The bed frame, dresser, everything was sinking," he added.

Duvall said he reached down, "got Mr. Bush by the hand and pulled him out."

"I looked and saw no one else in the hole," he added.

Duvall and Jeremy Bush rushed to safety, only to learn moments later that the sinkhole site would be closed, due to unsafe conditions.

Fielding questions from the media, Duvall said he couldn't sleep after the night's ordeal.

"If you guys know this family, know this neighborhood, pray for them," he said. "You can't even imagine something like this happening."