Heroic School Bus Driver Rushes Into Burning Home, Saves Students' Dogs

February 3, 2025

Today's good news story comes from Jackson Township, Ohio.

A routine morning took a heroic turn when Todd Morris, a former police officer and school bus driver for Jackson Local Schools, ran into a burning home to save his students’ beloved dogs.

Images via News 5 Cleveland

Morris was heading home after an appointment on a school closure day when he spotted unusual smoke near Fire Station No. 2.

“I was actually looking at fire station number two, our firehouse, and said, ‘that’s not chimney smoke,’” he recalled. As he got closer, he saw flames pouring from a second-story window.

Realizing the home belonged to a family on his bus route, Morris immediately sprang into action. He parked, called 911, and rushed toward the house.

“There wasn’t a lot of forethought running down the yard, the mission was to get to my kids,” he said. Despite thick smoke, he repeatedly entered the house, calling out for the children.

“I was still yelling for the kids. Eventually, I started to go upstairs. It was getting pretty thick smoke-wise. I couldn’t even tell what room the fire was in, but I could see the fire was starting to get worse,” he said. “I went out to get another fresh breath of air, came in and looked down the stairs and both of the dogs were sitting at the bottom of the stairs with a deer in the headlight look."

Morris coaxed the dogs to safety, carrying one of them — who had special needs — out of the house. Thankfully, no one else was home.

Morris says he was in the vicinity following several delays in his other appointments that morning, but he believes he was where he was meant to be at that time.

“Something put me there in the right place at the right time. I was just there at the right time and I just acted based on what we knew,” he said.

Watch Morris share his experience in the local news video below.