Off Duty Firefighter Spots Elderly Woman Struggling, Carries Her All The Way Up The Stairs

December 29, 2019

An off duty firefighter noticed a woman struggling on the stadium stairs, so he helped her to her seat and then carried her out of the stadium after the show.

Credit: Shayla Harwell

Shayla and Thomas Harwell were attending the the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when they noticed the older woman having trouble getting to her seat.

Thomas helped the woman down the stairs and to her seat, but he and his wife kept an eye on the family until the show ended. They knew the woman would need to come back up the stairs in order to exit the stadium.

"I helped her downstairs, and I wasn't going to leave until I helped her upstairs," Thomas said.

Shayla snapped a photo of her husband carrying the elderly woman up the stairs and posted it to Facebook.

"She did not have the strength to come back up the stairs," she wrote. "So, he carried her!"

Thomas has been a firefighter with Hardin Volunteer Fire Department for 15 years and said it's always been in his blood to help people, and not just when he's on the clock.

"I'm a senior captain in the fire department. My job is to help people," he said.