“I Had To Act Quick.” Wrong Turn Brings Hero To Burning Home With 4 People Inside.

Lehman family of Iowa flees burning home

Do you ever feel like things sometimes go wrong for a very good reason?

Brendon Birt was likely irritated when he accidentally took a wrong turn down a residential street in Red Oak, Iowa, but it turns out he was exactly where he needed to be! As he drove down the road, he spotted flames leaping from a family’s home. Without thinking, he jumped from his car and ran towards the blaze.

The family’s Ring doorbell captured the moment when Brendon ran up to the porch and saw that most of the downstairs was already engulfed. It was nighttime, and he instinctively knew that there had to be people sleeping inside the house. He rushed to the side of the home and started pounding on the windows, calling for the residents to get out.

“I just felt like somebody was in there because it was so late at night,” Brendon recalled. “I just knew that I had to act quick. Every second that was going by was just getting worse.”

Homeowner Tender Lehman was out of town that night but her three younger children ages 8, 14, and 17 were inside being supervised by her oldest son, Bryce Harrison, 22. No smoke alarms went off, so if it weren’t for Brendon’s warning, they might not have ever awakened.

Brendon was incredibly relieved when he saw the three younger children run out of the house to safety. Bryce brought up the rear, running through what he described as “an oven of heat and flames.”

“They came out the door… I just wanted to break down and cry,” said Brendon. “I don’t even know these people here.”

Days later, Tender came home and got a chance to meet the man who saved all four of her children from an unimaginable fate.

“I’m so incredibly grateful,” Tender said. “My kids wouldn’t have made it.”

Sadly, several of the family’s dogs didn’t make it out, which makes the whole ordeal even more sobering. The house is unsalvageable, so a GoFundMe has been established to help the family get back on their feet.

As for Brendon, he’s just grateful that he took that wrong turn that brought him to their door!

Talk about a lucky wrong turn! We’re so glad Brendon was there to alert this family to the fire in their house.

Share this story to thank Brendon for being in the right place at the right time.

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