Uber Driver Stops Mid-Ride To Rescue People From Burning Building
Fritz Sam has been driving Uber in the Big Apple for seven years, and last week, his day started like any other - until his second ride would make for an unforgettable day.
Sam says he picked up a passenger, Jemimah James Wei, in Brooklyn to take her to LaGuardia to catch a 10am flight.
“Five minutes into the ride, we’re passing this block and I noticed that there’s some activity going on in front of a brownstone,” Sam told the Washington Post. “I realized it was a fire.”
As he approached the home, he asked his passenger "Can we stop and help?
"Obviously!" Wei told him.
The two stopped the car and ran toward the building.
"Flames were shooting out of the building. There were glass shards everywhere,” Wei said. “It looked really bad.”
A crowd had gathered in the street and on the sidewalk, and panicked residents were running out of the burning building. Sam asked if anyone was still inside, but nobody knew for sure. So, he ran inside.
“It’s not my family, but it’s someone else’s family,” he continued. “If it was my family, and I wasn’t able to be there, I would hope that somebody else would go in and help them.”
Wei was totally stunned.
“It wasn’t even a calculated decision. He just ran in without hesitation,” she said. “He ran straight into the fire. I thought it was so brave.”
Inside he encountered a woman in shock, who couldn't bring herself to exit the building, so he talked calmly with her.
“I’m not leaving without you,” he recalled telling the woman. “If you’re not leaving, I’m not leaving.”
She decided to go with him, and Sam led the woman outside to safety.
Then, he led out a man who had to retrieve something important from his apartment.
After first responders got to work clearing the scene, Sam and Wei hopped back in their car.
“I apologized to Jemimah,” Sam said. “And I was asking her if I smell like smoke.”
“Firstly, you smell fine,” Wei recalled telling him. “And secondly, you just saved a life. Maybe multiple.”
Luckily, she somehow was able to make her flight, and it was from the airport that she Tweeted about her exciting Uber ride.
It's always great to help others when and how we can, and Sam is great example of a split second decision meaning everything for someone else.
Read more at Washington Post
LOOK: The top holiday toys from the year you were born
More From 97X
