Christopher Perez, a four-year letter carrier, had just finished one section of his route in Yorktown Heights on March 28 when he saw a white plume of smoke coming from an area he had just delivered to. At first, the Peekskill-based letter carrier thought that maybe someone was putting leaves in a fire pit, but when the smoke turned black, he realized that burning leaves is not allowed in this development.
He got in his truck and drove back to the area, where he saw several neighbors gathered. This was a 55-plus senior community, so they had canes and walkers and were unable to do much when it came to the fire.
Perez first ran around the four-unit building, knocking on everyone’s doors to make sure that they knew about the fire and were getting out. No one came out of one of the units, but he knew, or thought he knew, that the customer who owned the unit normally went to Florida in the winter. But the neighbors informed him that they had seen a man in the unit. Perez walked to the back of the building and saw the man come out onto the second-floor balcony in the back of the house.
“I’m telling the gentleman, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you know, but the house is on fire. You need to get out of the house,’ ” Perez recounted. “He looked at me and goes, ‘Oh, I gotta get my keys and my phone.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, you better hurry up. You better hurry up. Come on, get out of the house.’ ”
Within minutes, the house was starting to go up in flames. “So, now I’m getting pretty antsy,” Perez said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, you really gotta get out of there, sir.’ He kept saying that he can’t find his keys. He kept continuing to go in and out of the house. I’m thinking, ‘You know what? I’m going to go to the front door, kick in the door and bring him out, and that’ll be the end of the story.’ ”
Little did Perez know that he wouldn’t be able to get within 20 feet of the front door because it was covered in flames. “At the time, I had a big beard that went down to, like, the middle of my chest,” he said, “and when I ran to the front where the fire was at, it literally curled my beard on my face. Now that plan is completely out, because there’s no way I’m running through a door that’s completely engulfed in flames.”
The carrier kept his cool and figured out his next steps.
“The flames at this time were at least 20 feet high,” Perez recalled. “I’m like, ‘My God, this guy’s not going to be able to get out, and the only way he’s going to be able to get out is if he jumps.’ ”
He continued: “So, I run to the back, and I’m like, ‘Sir, listen, there’s no way you can get out this front door. Can you please jump? If you jump, I’ll catch you somehow. We’re both going to get hurt, but I can guarantee you that’s probably going to be the best-case scenario, because you will die if you stay in this house.’ He was like, ‘No, I’m not jumping.’ ”
The man was in his 50s, and Perez remembered him saying that he couldn’t “afford” to jump due to the possible effects it could have on his body. Despite the man’s refusal to comply, Perez knew he had to do something.
“It was like a fight-or-flight situation, and I chose to fight,” Perez said.
He decided to move his truck underneath the balcony. He climbed up on the hood, then on the roof, then climbed over the banister. He made his way into the house and found the man in the kitchen, still looking for his keys and phone.
“I was like, ‘Forget about your keys and your phone. That’s replaceable, but you are not,’ ” Perez said. “Then, I dragged him and pulled him out the door. He did not want to put his leg over the banister. I don’t blame him when you’re at a certain age—you’re not trying to go over no banister—but at that point, I’m like, ‘Dude, it’s do or die now. We’ve got to go.’ ”
To urge him to jump, Perez said, “ ‘I have a family, and I’ve got to make it home to them, and there’s no way that I can go home to my family and say that I left you behind. So, we both have to go,’ and he just looked me in my eye and said, ‘Fine.’ ”
Finally agreeing to leave the building, the man let Perez help him over the banister and onto the truck.
Although the building was severely damaged, none of the residents sustained any serious injuries. After being demolished, the building is now in the process of being rebuilt.
Perez often helps out elderly customers in need on his route. On one occasion he performed CPR, bringing back his customer. Even as Perez was being interviewed by The Postal Record about the fire story, a customer with dementia suddenly collapsed in the street.
“I put him on my back, and I piggybacked him up the little flight of stairs in the front of his house then brought him into his wife,” Perez said.
The carrier has received some media attention for his actions, but he’s brushed off any praise. “I feel like it’s something that anyone would do, you know?” he told News 12 New York.
“The Heroes of the Year Awards are a significant annual recognition that highlights the extraordinary ways letter carriers go beyond delivering mail to serve Americans along their routes,” said Brian Renfroe, National Association of Letter Carriers President. This year’s honorees demonstrate courage, quick thinking, and an unwavering commitment to the communities that depend on them. As a trusted presence in neighborhoods across the U.S. and its territories, their actions embody the very best of public service.”
To find out about other heroes of the year letter carriers, go to nalc.org/heroes.
