Homeless Man Hailed As Hero For Saving Family From Burning Apartment

A homeless guy who rescued a family and their pets from a burning apartment building has been hailed as a hero.

CBS News

On May 18, a mother-of-two from Phoenix, Arizona, named Claudia Jimenez awoke to discover her apartment in a fire.

Jimenez and her two young girls were stuck inside the house with no way to escape through the front door since it had been consumed by the fire.

All the mother could do as the fire spread was to call for assistance. 

“I opened my window and I started yelling, ‘Please, someone help me, there’s a fire, I can’t get out through the front, I need someone to help me,'” Jimenez told CBS News.

CBS News

Joe Hollins, who saved the family, and his wife were camped out close to Jimenez's flat.

Before the firefighters arrived, Hollins rushed to the mother's aid when they heard her desperate screams.

“All I see is a lady pull open the window and she’s screaming, ‘Please help me, please help me,’” Hollins recalled.

He stood in front of the window and ordered Jimenez to hand him her two girls.

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The mother described the moment help unexpectedly showed up:

"He was just underneath and he was like, Yes, throw your daughters out, I'm going to grab them, I'm going to get them."

Natalie, her older sister, age eight, followed Valerie, age one, as she jumped the window.

After that, Hollins saved the family's two dogs, carefully catching each one.

Mom Jimenez came next, who was instinctively nervous about trusting the Hollins.

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“She didn’t want to come at first. She was scared she was going to fall,” he told CBS News. “I was like, ‘I got you. Don’t worry.'”

Jimenez jumped, and as Hollins had promised, he grabbed her in his arms.

Soon after, the fire was extinguished by the firefighters.

Unfortunately, the family's possessions were destroyed in the fire, along with those of numerous other apartment residents.

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Fortunately, Hollins saved the family's life by helping them flee the fire.

“I will forever be thankful to him, you know? Like I said, to me he was an angel.”

“Because of him we’re here, we’re alive and my daughters are safe.”

Community members are currently raising money to help all of the fire survivors.

Investigations are being conducted to determine what caused the fire.