Barman Josué Contreras is being hailed as a hero after he entered a building burning to save an elderly couple from flames and smoke on Friday night before the fire department could arrive.
The blaze, which started in an apartment building across the street from the Trick Dog bar in the Mission district, was a two-alarm fire that caused the displacement of 21 tenants, according to Mission Local.
But none of them died — thanks to Contreras. Mission Local reported:
Josue Contreras, the host at Trick Dog, a popular bar across the street from the building, said the fire started in an upper unit. He first noticed a burning smell and then saw someone come out of the building calling for help. It was the son of a couple still in the building. Contreras said that the son told him he kept trying to go up the stairs but there was too much smoke.
“I went in there and it was just smoke, smoke, smoke and at some moment I was like ‘oh, I’m going to die in here.’”
Contreras met the son on the stairway and helped with the mother. The father who was in his late 60s wanted to put on his shoes and get some papers. “So I had to drag him and pull him out,” Contreras said.
The San Francisco Chronicle added:
At 35 years old and 6 feet tall, Contreras figured he could help. Firefighters would later call what he did heroic yet also caution that people should generally not run into a burning building.