20-year-old Derrick Byrd does not believe he is a hero, but rushing through flames—not once, but twice—was his automatic response to a horrifying situation.
When Derrick awoke to a loud boom and his sister’s screams in the early morning hours of July 4th, 2019, he realized their Aberdeen, Washington house was on fire and sprang into action.
Derrick kicked in his sister’s bedroom door, then he ran downstairs through flames so he could catch the kids as his sister helped them jump from the upstairs window.
Even though it was still dark outside, Derrick safely caught Junior, six years old, and Rory, three, before Kayla herself fell off the roof. The third kid, eight-year-old Mercedes, fell back into the room and screamed Derrick’s name as the house continued to burn.
Derrick did not think twice about his own pain when he ran back into the flames and up the stairs to rescue Mercedes.
After he made sure his sister and her kids were safe, he banged on the neighbor’s door to alert them to the blaze and then, fueled by adrenalin, ran ten blocks to his mom’s house to get a ride to the hospital. As Good News Network reports, by the time firefighting crews arrived on the scene, everybody in the home had survived the blaze, thanks to Derrick and Kayla’s quick and decisive actions.
He suffered second- and third-degree burns on his face, back, and arms for his selfless rescue. With bandages covering his burns, Derrick said he would “do it again.”
Derrick Byrd may not agree, but those words are the hallmark of a hero.
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