A man from Washington is being hailed as a hero after running inside a blazing house to save his eight-year-old niece.
According to accounts, Derrick Byrd, 20, received second and third-degree burns on his face, back, and arms after running into the house when he discovered his niece was trapped inside.
Byrd told KOMO-TV, “Even though I got burnt, I didn’t really care. I’d rather get burnt than her. She’s young and still has so much ahead of her. She’s a good kid.”
The fire started in a residence in Aberdeen, Washington, when Derrick Byrd and six other family members were inside, including his sister Kayla and her three children.
When the fire spread, Byrd assisted his nephews Junior and Royce in jumping out of a second-story window to safety. However, Mercedes, his eight-year-old niece, was too afraid to jump after witnessing her mother, Kayla, fall from the roof.
Without hesitation, Byrd rushed back inside the flaming house to save Mercedes. He immediately felt the flames searing him.
“I could feel it burning me,” he said.
Byrd placed his shirt around Mercedes’ face to shield her from the smoke and carried her out of the house as quickly as possible.
Despite the burns, Byrd stated that he would do it all again if necessary.
“I’d run back in there and do it again, even if I got burnt worse or ᴅɪᴇᴅ,” he said.
When people called him a hero, Byrd humbly responded, “I wouldn’t say I’m a hero. I just wasn’t going to let my niece and nephews ᴅɪᴇ.”