Off The Record
Heroic Uncle Runs Into Burning House To Save Niece And Nephews
The story of Derrick Byrd is further proof that not all heroes wear capes.
It’s not unexpected that he’s been hailed as a hero by the villagers for risking his own life to protect his niece and nephews.
Six people, including Derrick’s sister Kayla and her three children, were home when a fire broke out in Aberdeen, Washington.
Derrick, seeing that the house could catch fire at any moment, quickly snatched up his nephews and escaped with them by jumping out of a second-story window.
His eight-year-old niece, Mercedes, saw her mother jump over the roof, but she decided not to follow suit.
Derrick went back inside the house without pausing a second to free his trapped niece.
After entering, he felt the heat from the flames on his face, but getting out with Mercedes alive was paramount.
“I could feel it burning me,” he explained.
“I got her and took my shirt off and put it around her face so she wouldn’t breathe in any smoke and I just carried her out as fast as I could.”
Derrick saved the day, but not without getting burned on the face, back, and arms. He was in a lot of agony and it took a long time to get better, but he says he would do it again if he had to.
“Even though I got burnt, I really didn’t care, though. I’d rather get burnt than her. She’s young. She’s still got a lot of stuff going for her. She’s a good kid,” he told KOMO-TV.
“I’d run back in there and do it again even if I got burnt worse or died.”
Upon hearing that he was being called a hero, Derrick said modestly, “I can’t say a hero. I just wanted to say that I wouldn’t have wanted my niece and nephews to die.
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Uncle Derrick Byrd is the kind of uncle everyone wants. He has our best wishes for a swift recovery.
