A trio of construction workers is being hailed as small-town heroes in Iowa after they dashed into a burning home to rescue a family and saved a teenage boy trapped upstairs with their quick-thinking.
John Lewis, Gabe Record, and Damian Pond, three employees with Glenwood-based Leick Construction, were working nearby when a residential home burst into flames around 12:30 p.m. last Monday.
The men didn’t waste a second and rushed inside with little regard for the dangers the fire pouring out the windows posed to themselves.
They followed the sound of chilling screams and quickly rescued a mother, grandmother, and a 4-year-old girl — but a teenage boy was still stuck inside on the second floor.
Record recounted hearing an explosion behind him during the initial rescue, but didn’t have time to assess any possible injuries. Later, the men realized the burst of flames had scorched his back and charred the side of Pond’s face.
The minute they’d corralled the women and child to safety, their focus quickly shifted to the terrified teen as the blaze grew closer and closer to the second-floor area where he was trapped.
They spotted a trampoline and moved it underneath the window where the teenager was. He was able to jump out the window onto the trampoline to safety.
“So I grabbed the trampoline, and me and another friend took and scooted it over to the window. It was black smoke, and we got him down… He jumped out the window [above] the trampoline, and once he hit the trampoline, I got him away from the building. And we got it up to the side and knew everybody was out at that point,” Lewis told First Alert 6.
All three saviors were treated for burn injuries after their valiant rescue, which they can only really recall as a “blur.” During the chaos, Lewis told KMTV that his hat even melted onto his head.
The Glenwood Fire Department plans on honoring the three, but none of the men thought much of their heroism.
“I just did what any normal person would do,” Record told First Alert 6.
“When you hear a child in harm’s way, you’ll do what you got to do,” Lewis added.
The community hosted a donation drive for the displaced family and received an outpouring of supplies, including blankets and toys for the young girl.
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