Couple sleeping peacefully was startled when 70-yr-old neighbor burst into their house—that brave move saved their lives
A minute of courage and awareness from someone can save a person's life. A 70-year-old Air Force veteran did just that for his neighbors when he noticed that their house was on fire. The man, Marshall Helm, was also suffering from cancer at that time in 2020 when he rushed inside his neighbors' house to help them. It was a usual day for Helm, who was dropping his granddaughter off at the bus stop when the bus driver noticed something unusual, per 12 News.
"The bus driver hung out the door and he tried to get my attention. He said, 'Fire, fire, fire.' And I looked over here and sure enough, I saw a fire coming through that window," the Illinois man recounted. Helm ran to the house and pushed open a side door at the garage, the place where the fire had started, per the outlet. He went inside the house to see if anyone was in there, even though the fire was advancing rapidly. "I was hollering, 'Fire, fire, we need to get out of here. Anybody in here?'" The couple who lived in the house, Gary and Kathy Benjamin, were sleeping when Helm came into their house and started shouting.
They woke up and followed the sound to see what the commotion was all about. "The next thing I know, I hear someone and it was our neighbor, whom I didn’t know at the time. He was yelling, 'Fire, fire, get up, get out.' When I got up and walked out, all I saw was flames coming through the wall," Gary recalled. The door that Helm had used had caught fire by the time they tried to get out and the three of them escaped safely through the back door instead. The couple had breathed in smoke, but they were okay otherwise. "Hero. He’s our angel, our angel of mercy," Kathy continued. The veteran shared that he didn't think twice before rushing into the house. He knew what could have happened, but he would do it again.
"They could have died, and then… I don’t want to think about it," Helm shared. The fire department couldn't pinpoint the exact cause of the fire at the house. But they found out that there were baby chicks in the garage and a heat lamp had been placed to keep them warm. As the lamp was not secured, it might have fallen over and caused the fire. The couple lost almost everything to the fire, so their son, Nicholas Benjamin, set up a GoFundMe page for his parents. The target was $1000 and the donations were at $2,232 at the time of writing. Nicholas was driving when he got a call about the fire at his parents' house and was really worried about them as he called 911.
He wasn't sure if his parents had made it out of the house until he saw his burned childhood home. But soon enough, his parents called for him and they were safe with their dog Josie. The couple lost two Siamese cats and a family dog because of smoke inhalation and were devastated about that. However, Nicholas was incredibly thankful for what Helm did and said, "He is a true hero." He explained that any extra money from the GoFundMe would be used to help Helm's family financially.