A Cleveland, Ohio, family has been devastated by the loss of their home in a tragic fire. But they haven’t lost their children, thanks to a good Samaritan who just happened to be driving by.
On Monday, May 6, their house caught fire with Samantha James and her twin 11-month-girls inside, WDSU reports. The smoke was so thick and suffocating that the mother could only manage to escape with one of her babies.
John Stickovich, a total stranger to the family, was on his commute to work when he spotted James outside her burning home.
“Thank God John was driving, he pulled over, got out and said ‘Oh my God, are you and the baby okay?'” the mom told the outlet.
Once he was told that another baby was still inside, Stickovich rushed to save her.
“I went back in, found the baby gate laying on the floor, felt around, couldn’t find the baby. I was just getting ready to leave because it was getting so bad…and then the baby cried,” the hero recounted to the station.
James will never forget the moment she was able to feel relief.
“A couple of minutes later, he came out holding my baby that I thought I was never going to see again,” she recalled. “Those moments I was thinking to myself, ‘how am I going to have just one twin?'”
The fire was so bad that the roof collapsed on responding firefighters, causing three to be injured.
Three of the responding firefighters were injured. (@ClevelandFire on X)
Following his discharge from the hospital, firefighter Pete Mauric said he’s grateful to hear the babies were safe.
“These two are twins. I also have twin 15-month-olds at home too, so I didn’t know it at the time when we were on the scene but in the hospital I did hear about it, that there were twins that got out, so it hit a little closer for me,” he said.
James, along with her daughters, Lotus and Opal, reunited with their rescuer on Thursday.
Stickovich held Opal, the twin he saved from the flames, once again.
“The baby is safe, and gets to have, hopefully, a full, happy life,” he said at a press conference.
“That represents the core of what Cleveland is about. Sacrificing for each other, unselfish sacrifice, it is just totally amazing,” said Chief Anthony Luke of the Cleveland Division of Fire.
Little Opal suffered from burns on her head and face as well as smoke inhalation, but is expected to make a full recovery.
“I’m so grateful for John, he’s our guardian angel for sure, and for the firefighters,” James added.
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