Humble Man Rescues Woman from Burning Missouri Home: ‘I Don’t Feel Like a Hero’

A man is being hailed as a hero for rescuing a woman from her burning home in Springfield, Missouri, on October 20.

Shawn Schaefer noticed the smoke coming from a home in Southwest Springfield while delivering packages for Amazon on Wednesday morning, according to Ozarks First. Schaefer informed the outlet that he went towards the smoke to investigate what was happening.

A man ran up to him in the yard and asked him to help save his wife who was trapped in the burning home, according to Ozarks First. It was difficult for Schaefer to see in the home as the smoke clouded his vision, but he yelled to direct the woman to a window. He then broke the window and helped the woman escape, Ozarks First reports.

“A lot of waves of emotions hit me,” Schaefer told Ozarks First. “I could only imagine being trapped in the house, what she was feeling, what she was going through. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe, so being trapped inside the house, I couldn’t imagine.”

After making sure the couple was okay, Schaefer “went about his business,” Battlefield Fire Division Chief Shane Anderson told Ozark First. “And of course, they were in such shock. They knew that somebody had helped, they just had no idea who it was.”

“Obviously they were in a lot of distress, but when I told them we would be looking for that person, they expressed how they would love to be given the opportunity to thank him in person,” Anderson told Ozarks First.

Anderson told Breitbart News that later in the day, the fire department was able to get Schaefer and his family together with the man whose wife he had helped save.

“Obviously he was very excited and very thankful to get a chance to meet and thank Shawn,” Anderson told Breitbart News.

“Right place, right time, but he still had to choose to act,” Battlefield Fire District Chief Scott Moore told Ozarks First. “That choice is likely what makes a difference in someone’s life.”

“Everyone’s calling me hero at the station and everything, and I don’t feel like a hero. I just feel like I was doing the right thing,” Schaefer told Ozarks First.

The Battlefield Fire Department thanked Schaefer for his heroic actions from its Facebook account: “A huge thank you to Shawn Schaefer for his willingness to help others in an emergency,” the post reads. “Shawn set the bar for being a good Samaritan by calling 911 and helping rescue a woman from a house fire. Shawn is proof that everyday heroes live all around us.”