Stranger rushes inside burning building, carries stranded man to safety

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One man from Kentucky, United States did the unthinkable and rushed inside a burning apartment complex to carry a stranger to safety.

Dathen Collins was searching for his uncle’s apartment complex when he came upon the burning Powhatan Trail apartment last Friday, May 3. As per WLKY on May 7, Collins saw smoke coming from the building and a man, identified as Mark Hughes, standing on a second floor balcony.

“I told him to go put his shoes on. Nobody heard or (saw) anything from him for about 10 minutes,” Collins said in the report, which prompted him to rush inside the burning building.

He found Hughes trapped in the staircase, surrounded with thick black smoke. Without hesitating, he went on to carry him to safety until the fire department arrived minutes later.

“I had black stuff in my nose,” he said. “I know he was struggling standing in there.”

Hughes was not hurt from the fire and has since reunited with Collins, who he could not be any more thankful for, for saving his life.

“He said, ‘just grab hold of my back. I’ll take you out.’ I said, ‘OK,’” Hughes added.

The fire ravaged the first floor of the apartment complex, as per the report, and is believed to have come from the kitchen. Cody Cepeda/JB

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