Aurora Starchild
An Amazon driver is being called a hero after helping a New York family escape from a burning house. Kevin Rivera, 22, was nearing the end of his Saturday delivery route in Syosett when he saw a house on fire. He stopped to look inside and realized that there were about seven people in the house, seemingly unaware that it was on fire.
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“I just saw the fire getting bigger and bigger. That’s when I rushed in,” Rivera told CBS. “Everyone is calling me a hero.”
Rivera went inside to get the people out and realized that one of them was a woman holding a baby. But when he tried to explain what was happening, a language barrier prevented them from getting out right away. He did what he could and urged the family to exit the house in the direction opposite the flames.
Amazon Driver Saves The Day
Rivera said that the family had visceral reactions to the scene when they realized what was occurring.
“They just started crying,” the Amazon driver said. “They just got emotional.”
Rivera rescued three children in addition to the infant, as well as the grandmother. According to The Daily Mail, he said that initially, a man who may have been the children’s father or grandfather exited the house but just stood there in shock.
If Rivera hadn’t risked his life and gone inside, the entire family may have perished. Who knows when they would have realized that their house was in flames?
Rivera says that the family had two dogs and that he tried to grab them. The Golden Retriever and a smaller dog made it out safely.
Amanda Johnson is a neighbor who captured the burning house on film. When she heard what Rivera had done, she shared his story to social media.
“It would have been a lot worse,” she said.
Johnson told Daily Mail that “A lot of people are stepping away from doing things today, and he stepped toward this. It’s pretty amazing that Kevin did this.”
Johnson’s husband is a firefighter with the Syosett Fire Department. So, when she posted the video of the home on fire, the media was quick to respond.
The Amazon driver added that he wanted to talk to the family afterward and give his condolences, but law enforcement asked him to move his van instead.
The house, which sold for about $1.5 Million last year, was “severely burned,” displacing the family.
