A UPS driver in Massachusetts saved the life of a family last week when he drove up and saw their home in flames during his delivery route.
Paul Pereira was making his final delivery in Haverville when he noticed the fire.
“I just ran over, banged on the door, told the people in the house, ‘Your house (is) on fire!'” he told WCVB, adding that the family had no idea of the potential danger they faced.
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The homeowner, Brian Lavender, was inside with his daughter, Tracy Lavender, at the time, he said. The two thought the burning smell was coming from a neighbor’s grill.
Then, Pereira asked a neighbor for a garden hose and climbed the porch to face the flames up-front. A neighbor took cellphone video of Pereira’s heroic act prior to the fire department’s arrival.
Pereira potentially saved the entire home from becoming engulfed in the fire, neighbor Peter Brown said.
“By the time the fire department showed up, he had knocked down the fire. Had he not been there, that entire porch would have been engulfed,” Brown said.
The neighbor who took the video said he didn’t realize the severity of the flames until he later watched it.
During Pereira’s rounds on Wednesday, Tracy Lavender couldn’t help but give him a hug for saving them and their home, which the family is currently in the process of buying.
On Twitter, UPS honored their brave employee, writing: “Heroes wear brown too.”
Heroes wear brown too. Kudos Paul for getting everyone out safely! https://t.co/nQUpc8eGoz
— UPS (@UPS) April 13, 2017
And in true hero fashion, Pereira denies that his actions were anything extraordinary.
“I don’t feel I am a hero,” he said. “I think anybody would do it if they saw a fire, you know, act on it.”
(H/T: WCVB)
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