Heroes came in all shapes, sizes, and even species in 2015.
Whether it was first responders jumping into a dangerous situation, brave animals try to save their owner’s lives, or regular people moved to incredible acts of heroism, 2015 reminded us of the power a single heroic act can have on the lives of others.
These are the best hero moments of the past year, caught on tape.
The man who took off his turban to aid a car accident victim (see above)
Twenty-two-year-old Harman Singh earned global acclaim after photographs emerged of him removing his turban to aid a car accident victim in Auckland, New Zealand on May 15.
The gesture carried special significance as Singh, a practicing Sikh, is forbidden by religious tenet from removing his turban except in the most private of situations, such as a bath or shower.
“I saw a child down on the ground and a lady was holding him,” Singh told The New Zealand Herald. “His head was bleeding, so I unveiled my turban and put it under his head.”
The Maryland cop in the right place at the right time and saved a nine-month-old’s life
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It started as a routine traffic stop; Montgomery County police officer James Herman pulled over a woman for driving too fast this past October.
Then his day took a sudden turn.
Herman says he looked up to see a man running towards him screaming for help, the look of fear in his eyes so intense that Herman said he assumed the man was being chased. That’s when he noticed the baby being held in the man’s arms.
The young girl in question, nine-month-old Kenzlee Mae Cushman, was on her way home to Charles Town, West Virginia with her grandparents when she suddenly became unresponsive. Officer Herman immediately began administering chest compressions using two fingers while he radioed for an ambulance – an act later credited with saving the child’s life.
The store clerk who fended off a sword-wielding robber with a sword of his own
For a few tense, surreal moments this past August, a Pittsburgh corner store was transformed into something out of Game of Thrones.
That’s because a would-be robber tried to hold up the store with a sword, only to discover the clerk was armed with a sword of his own.
And just like that, battle was joined in the aisles of a Pittsburgh corner store – for a few seconds, anyways.
The cop who paid for a homeless woman’s groceries after he caught her shoplifting
Officer Mark Engravalle was called to a Walmart in Roeland Park, Kansas, this past July in response to a call for shoplifting.
But when he arrived he found Sarah Robinson, along with her six children, and a sobering picture began to develop.
Engravalle said Robinson broke down into tears as she told the officer that she and her six children were homeless, and were living out of a car. He said he noticed three of the children were not wearing any shoes, and their feet were covered in dirt.
So he took action, first by writing Robinson a minor ticket for shoplifting.
Then he went back into the store, and paid her entire grocery bill out of his own pocket.
The Good Samaritan who ran into a burning home to save the family dog
Amateur video out of Tennessee captures the moment a complete stranger runs into a burning home – and comes out carrying the family dog.
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The fire broke out at a Springfield, Tennessee home this past October.
As neighbours called 911 and looked on from the front lawn as the fire consumed the home, a total stranger suddenly leapt into action.
“This guy in a grey Mustang pulls up, says, ‘I do this for a living,’ and he runs in and he comes out about two minutes later with this beautiful dog in his arms, and it was incredible to see,” Jimmy Nichols, the man who shot the above video.
The news crew who saved a man overdosing on heroin
Sometimes, journalists have to look high and low to get the story.
But sometimes, the story finds them – and concerns about the story take a backseat to human considerations such as saving someone’s life.
Channel 11 News cameraman Dave Clark and reporter Cara Sapida were setting up a live shot for the 6 o’clock news when a man in a nearby car asked them what they were there to film.
Moments later, Clark looked back to see the man slumped over his steering wheel, his face and lips purple. Clark’s camera captured the terrifying scene: from the moment the cameraman approaches the car, to realizing he’s in medical distress, to pulling him out of his vehicle to administer CPR.
The dog who tried to shield its owner from a fire
Carmen, a nine-year-old boxer, suffered severe lung damage as a result of a fire at her owner Benjamin Ledford’s house this past February.
Upon arriving at the scene of the fire in Goshen Township, Ohio, firefighters say they discovered Carmen along with Ledford in the basement of the house.
And according to firefighters, Carmen was lying across Ledford’s face, trying to shield him from the heavy smoke and fumes.
“A lot of dogs instinctively know when there’s a crisis going on and so a lot of them do go try to protect their owners,” Veterinarian Dr. Marlo Anderson said.
SpiderMable save the day!
Sometimes, the greatest act a hero can perform is to inspire others.
And that was clearly the case this past September, as an adorable six-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia was transformed into SpiderMable, and helped save Edmonton Oilers Captain Andrew Ference.
Mable’s love of superheroes began shortly after she was diagnosed in Sept. 2013. While undergoing treatment, the young girl would read comic books and quickly grew extremely fond of the Spider-Man comics from the 1960s.
The Children’s Wish Foundation partnered up with various groups to give her a day of super heroics the little girl – and the whole #YEG – will never forget.
The dog that died saving its owner’s mother from a knife attack
Lucy, a six-year-old pit bull from Fort Myers, Fla., died after saving her owner’s mom from a stabbing attack on Dec.18.
Lisa Potts, the mother of Lucy’s owner, came home to find her ex-boyfriend, Walter Williams, inside her apartment. Potts said an argument broke out between the two, with Williams hitting her. He then proceeded to pull out a knife. That’s when Lucy intervened.
The attack from the pit bull was enough to get Williams to stop but Lucy was injured and eventually died as a result of the attack.
The “Jewish Schindler” of Montreal who rescued girls enslaved by ISIS
In Aug. 2014, ISIS militants raided villages in the Sinjar District of northern Iraq. It’s an area occupied by many Yazidis – a religious minority practicing an ancient religion, pre-dating Islam.
Not long after the invasion of Sinjar, an ISIS video surfaced showing a group of men laughing and joking about buying and selling Yazidi girls.
Steve Maman saw the news coverage of the massacres across Sinjar and says he felt he had to take action. He says he’s inspired by his religious beliefs, and also by Oskar Schindler, the German businessman who rescued 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust.
In Nov. 2014, he began working to set up his organization CYCI, the Liberation of Christian and Yazidi Children of Iraq. To date, Maman’s organization has raised more than $800,000 and Maman says they’ve rescued more than 140 women and children.
The Hamilton man who comforted a person with special needs during a long bus trip
When 21-year-old Godfrey Coutto got on a Hamilton bus in October, he was expecting it to be another uneventful ride back home from downtown.
But as soon as he boarded the crowded 10 B-Line Express bus, a man named Robert walked up to him and shook his hand and didn’t let go.
According to Robert’s family, the middle-aged man has cerebral palsy and is deaf.
During the 30-minute bus ride to Coutto’s stop, Robert wrapped his arm around the McMaster University sociology student, gave him props and kissed his hands.
“This was my first time encountering such a thing. I was obviously freaked out but I tried to understand his position,” said Coutto.
The New Jersey cops who rescued a woman moments before her car exploded
Dramatic video shows two New Jersey officers pulling an unconscious woman from her overturned vehicle before it explodes.
The video was captured by a police dash cam in Kinnelon, N.J. on April 16 and shows the quick thinking officers cut the woman’s seat belt before pulling her body from the wreck. Within minutes, the flames consumed the convertible, and caused an explosion.
Officers Mark Ehrenberg and Officer Ricky Ferriola are credited for the woman’s rescue.
The man who saved his BBQ ribs from an apartment fire
And finally, we end with a rather…different kind of hero.
After a fire ripped through an apartment at a Fresno, California apartment complex in September, resident Robert Wright spoke passionately about rescuing his family when he noticed the blaze.
And also, of course, his rack of BBQ ribs.
“First thing, I got my kids. Then I thought about my ribs. I didn’t want to let my ribs burn and stuff, ‘cause I take pride in what I do,” he said while proudly holding up a glistening rack of ribs.
-With files from Hannah James, Jenny Sung, Andrew Russell
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