Nate Williams and Darius Dillard happened to be near-by when smoke billowing out of the second-floor window of a home across the street caught their attention.
The incident took place in a neighborhood in Rochester, New York.
The two young men jumped into action, rushing into the building without hesitation.
Nate and Darius kicked in the front door to find a family of five struggling to collect their belongings as the smoke steadily filled their home.
“They were trying to get stuff out of the house and we were like, ‘No, you don’t have any time to get anything out of the house, you just need to get out of the house and go because I don’t want none of you to get burnt or nothing,’” Nate told WROC.
Fortunately, an uncle in their family called 911 as the young men charged into the smoky house.
Darius noted that the downstairs area of the home was clear but upstairs had so much smoke that it was hard to see.
“… once it got in your lungs, it was hard, we could have passed out,” he said.
The young men even tried to put out the fire themselves, but the smoke made it too difficult to breathe, and so they followed the family of five out of the home
Thankfully, firefighters were able to subdue the fire within a few minutes.
And while firefighters commented Nate and Darius for saving an adult and four children, as well as trying to put out the fire.
“I think it’s awesome that they sprung into motion and tried to make sure there wasn’t anyone inside and got them out, they did something about it,” Jim Ryan, Rochester Fire Department’s deputy chief, said.
After the ordeal, the young men remained humble about their heroic deed, saying they just wanted to make sure everyone got out of the house. And the fact that these people were complete strangers made no difference.
“I didn’t know them from a can of paint. That’s the crazy thing about it. They just thanked me after. Me and my cousin,” Darius told Rochesterfirst.com.
These two fine gentlemen, Darius and Nate, ran into a burning home on Emerson St to try and save a family they didn’t know before @RFDPIO1 arrived. Why would they help strangers? Simply because they wouldn’t want it to happen to their family. More on this story on @News_8. pic.twitter.com/OefVsuQrnB
— Dan Gross (@DJG_Music) August 14, 2019
These young men are bonified heroes! Please be sure to help celebrate these heroes by sharing their incredible story with your friends and family.