On March 5th, FedEx Express courier John Bryant headed into work like any other day. Snow and ice blanketed the streets of Arlington,Texas the night before, but it was the sight of smoke off the highway that caught Bryant’s attention.
“The smoke didn’t look normal to me,” he said. “I pulled off the highway and headed over to see if everything was okay.”
Things were far from okay. As he pulled down the street, Bryant saw a house on fire and frantic neighbors were screaming that the homeowner was inside. Firefighters weren’t on the scene yet, but Bryant, a volunteer firefighter and former EMT in Kuwait, didn’t hesitate.
He parked his truck and ran around the back of the house to assess the situation. The homeowner managed to escape her home, but she was trapped in her canopy-covered backyard and the exit gate was engulfed in flames.
“I went to the other side and started tearing down the fence with my hands,” Bryant said. “A couple of her neighbors helped me get it low enough so I could jump over and get the woman out.”
The homeowner, distraught over the loss of her cat and two dogs that didn’t make it out of the fire, thanked Bryant for his heroic actions.
Once the firefighters were on scene and the fire was under control, Bryant got back into his truck. He called his station manager, Bryan Simpson, to let him know that he would still be at work, albeit a little late.
“I told Bryan to go look at the news and find the fire in Arlington—that’s where I was,” he said.
Thanks to Ann Voskamp
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