Garbage man sees fire raging through home, kicks in door to save elderly couple trapped inside

The fact that real heroes live amongst us isn’t up for dispute. They can be found in the people who reside across the street, the people you pass on your way to work, the people who teach your children at school.

For me, a hero is someone who goes above and beyond when the situation calls for it. In short, someone like Patrick Lebow.

As per reports, Patrick is a garbage collector in Ceres, California, and goes about most of his days without issue.

Facebook / Ceres Fire Department

Yet on one particular day, Patrick was out on his rounds when he spotted a burning home. Without a second thought, he decided to inject himself into the situation, and it’s a very good thing he did.

What Patrick couldn’t have known – at least not initially – was that there was an elderly couple living in the residence. They were home when the fire began to spread, and could easily have lost their lives had Patrick not intervened.

Fire Department Arrives

Ceres Fire Chief Kevin Wise and his crew arrived at the scene of the house fire shortly after, and found the building completely engulfed in flames.

His firefighters noticed that the door had already been broken in, and that the residents were saved despite the inferno.

“He (Patrick) felt a need to act,” said Chief Wise. “He saw that they needed some help.

As for Patrick himself, reports say he claims he’s no hero, and that he was simply doing what any citizen would have done in his shoes.

Watch the footage from the fire department below:

Shortly before 9am this morning, Ceres Fire Department was dispatched to a working structure fire on the 1300 block of Grover Drive. Initial reports were that a vegetation fire spread into the residence.Prior to our arrival, a Bertolotti Disposal employee alerted the occupants of the fire and helped them out of the house.Ceres Quint 18 arrived on scene first to find heavy smoke and fire from the house. Firefighters performed an aggressive interior fire attack, extinguished the fire, and performed a search to confirm that everyone was out of the house.Ceres Quint 18, Engine 15, Engine 16, Battalion Chief 3, and Chief 1 were assisted by our MCST resource sharing partners of Modesto Engine 2, Modesto Engine 3, Modesto Engine 10, and Modesto Battalion Chief 1. The Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation unit was on scene with 3 fire investigators to determine the cause and origin of the blaze.Ceres Police were on scene assisting with crowd and traffic control.American Medical Response was also on scene to treat one occupant and monitor the firefighters.The occupants were given a $250 SAVE card to assist with their immediate needs. The Ceres Fire Department and Ceres Professional Firefighters Local 3636 partnered to participate in the SAVE (supplying aid to victims of emergency) program run by the California Fire Foundation.

Posted by Ceres Fire Department on Tuesday, June 2, 2020

We think you’re definitely a hero, Patrick, and we’re sure the elderly couple you saved for agree.

Share this article to pay tribute to this heroic garbage collector. Thank you, Patrick.