Man Scales 3-Story Building To Rescue Neighbor During Fire

March 21, 2023

A man in Colorado Springs, Colorado, scaled three stories to save a neighbor suffering an asthma attack during an apartment building fire.

Credit: KKTV / CBS Newspath

"We saw the fire going on and noticed a guy on the third floor was having a hard time breathing. He had an inhaler in his hand, couldn't even stand up" said Dewey Parker. "Somebody else told the EMTs and they went up -- but the door was locked."

Parker says the neighbor was all alone in the apartment, and that when he saw someone in trouble, his adrenaline took over.

"He needed a hand. I just decided to scale up to the third floor off the balconies and unlocked the door," said Parker. "I was able to reach. It was scary, though, because I figured, if my hand slipped, then they're going to have to be helping me."

Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control in minutes. Two apartments were affected, displacing eight people and five animals.

No one was harmed outside of the man that had an asthma attack, who, thanks to Parker, is going to be fine.

"I'm glad I was here and was able to help," said Parker. "I just figured, if that was me, I would hope someone would have done the same thing."