Heroes don’t always wear capes and so was the case in Norfolk Virginia on Christmas morning. On Christmas morning an unidentified man was driving on 26th St. Crews street in Norfolk, Virginia when his eyes beheld a home in flames.
The brave man stopped his car immediately and exited his vehicle in a sprint towards the burning home. As the man was running he met Derrick Vaughan who was a neighbor who saw the house up in flames.
Acting quickly, the two men banged in the door but there was no response. This led the two men to charge inside of the house and rescue an 80-year -old woman who was trapped inside of her burning house.
Third alarm structure fire- 800 block of E 26th St. Crews battling the wind to extinguish the fire. pic.twitter.com/D5OdzSpnpn
— Norfolk Fire-Rescue (@norfolkfireresc) December 25, 2021
Vaughan told a local news outlet Wavy-TV:
“I mean it it was definitely scary,” said Vaughan. “I mean immediately start praying and just sprung into action. You know, it’s the neighbor. So we wanted to make sure that she was safe.”
“It was a lot, a lot of smoke, and the fire was heavy on one side of her porch. Not in front of her door, but on the far right side it was heavy fire. It was a little scary and then feeling the adrenaline pushing and pumping real quick. I mean it really wasn’t no time to think. I just want to help and that’s what I did.”
No one was harmed by the blazing fire and the woman who was rescued is extremely thankful for both Vaughn and the unidentified good samaritan. Fire crews eventually arrived on the scene but due to the high winds, the house was badly damaged.
Fire control called just over two hours into the incident on 26th St. FM Group will begin their investigation now. Steer clear from the area as streets are still closed off with multiple units on scene. pic.twitter.com/e8iIFmiknn
— Norfolk Fire-Rescue (@norfolkfireresc) December 25, 2021
The family of the elderly woman who was rescued from the blaze is happy God sent two of his people to the right place at the right time.
One can’t help to think that the other unidentified man who hasn’t been seen in the area before or even stayed around to have an interview could’ve been an angel. It’s not too crazy to ponder this thought considering the Bible says in Hebrews 13:2 “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels”.
We can all learn from these two heroic men who entered the burning house, it’s to do mercy to others as we have freely received mercy from God. We might not all have a chance to rescue an elderly woman from a burning house but there are always people around who are looking for help in some way shape or form.
As humans we have a choice, we can immediately stop what we’re doing and meet others’ needs or we can keep going ignoring the person’s needs right in front of us.
So, next time you see that one person sitting by themselves and the Holy Spirit nudges you to talk to them, do it. You may not be rescuing someone out of a fiery building but you could be rescuing someone from a bad day or a bout of depression.
Prayer: Jesus, wash my eye’s in your blood that I may clearly see people’s needs and strengthen me that I may be able to meet those needs. Amen.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News