A Washington man is being hailed a hero after rushing into a burning home to save his 8-year-old niece.
20-year-old Derrick Byrd suffered second- and third-degree burns on his face, back, and arms while rescuing her.
“I didn’t care about the burns,” he told KOMO-TV. “I’d rather get burnt than her. She’s young and has her whole life ahead.”
The fire broke out at a home in Aberdeen, Washington, where Byrd was with six family members, including his sister Kayla and her three kids.
Byrd caught his nephews, Junior and Royce, as they jumped from a second-floor window. But his 8-year-old niece, Mercedes, was too scared to jump after seeing Kayla fall from the roof.
Without hesitation, Byrd ran back inside to save her—only to be engulfed by flames moments later.
“I could feel the fire burning me,” Byrd said.
“I grabbed her, took off my shirt, and wrapped it around her face to block the smoke. Then I carried her out as fast as I could.”
Despite his injuries, Byrd says he’d do it again without hesitation:
“I’d run back in even if it meant getting burned worse or dying.”
When called a hero, he humbly replied,
“I’m not a hero. I just wasn’t going to let my niece and nephews die.”
What a genuine hero Derrick Byrd truly is. In moments like that, people’s true colours are shown, and Derrick can certainly be proud of his.
