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A 70-year-old war veteran risked his life to rescue his neighbors when a fire ravaged their home in Illinois in the聽 United States.
Marshall Helm was walking his granddaughter to the bus stop on Oct. 21 when his neighbors鈥� home began catching fire.
鈥淏us driver hung out the door and tried to get my attention and he said 鈥榝ire, fire, fire,鈥欌�� Helm told CBS-affiliate KMOV on Oct. 24.
鈥淎nd I looked over here and sure enough, I saw a fire coming through that window,鈥� he recalled.
Upon seeing the flames, the veteran rushed over to his neighbors鈥� house and opened a door on the side of the garage. The fire was already climbing a wall, but he managed to get past them safely and entered the house.
鈥淚 was hollering 鈥榝ire, fire, you got to get out of here. Anybody in here.鈥� And I kept repeating, 鈥榠s anybody in here,'鈥� he said in the report.
Thanks to his screams, his neighbors Gary and Kathy Benjamin eventually woke up from their sleep. After realizing their house was on fire, they ran out of bed and eventually found Helm before they all left the home through a backdoor.
Following the incident, the couple assured that they were not injured, but had inhaled a lot of smoke. They also noted that the accident had burned 40 years鈥� worth of their belongings.
鈥淎ll I saw was flames coming through the wall,鈥� Gary stated.
Though Helm is currently battling cancer, he said that he did not hesitate to run into the burning home to save his neighbors.
The couple also expressed their gratitude for his bravery and called him their 鈥渉ero鈥� and 鈥渁ngel.鈥�
The flames started due to a heat lamp that fell inside the Benjamins鈥� garage, as per report. The light was used to keep chicks warm in their garage.
Following the accident, the couple are now trying to recover and set up a crowdfunding to seek financial assistance. They have since gained $1,647, as of this writing.聽Ryan Arcadio聽/ra
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