Anival Angulo was walking past an apartment building in Las Vegas last week when he saw smoke billowing out of a home. Then he heard children screaming.
The 36-year-old, who is currently homeless, instantly jumped over a locked gate into the complex, the Las Vegas Fire & Rescue explained in a Facebook post.
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Angulo then saw a three-year-old girl crying behind a jammed security door. After a few moments of struggle, he managed to open it and let her out.
“The little girl ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist,” the post read, explaining that’s when he noticed the second child.
“He could see through the smoke the leg of an infant on the floor. He reached down and pulled the infant out.”
Angulo then took both children to a safe area, as fire crews worked to contain the inferno. The two children were treated for smoke inhalation but did not suffer any burns.
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Speaking to KSNV, Angulo stopped short of calling himself a hero — although the fire department insisted he is.
“I knew I had to get them out,” he said.
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The fire, which began on the stove, was stopped by first responders within 20 minutes. But there was about $50,000 in damage to the home, with most of it in the kitchen and living room.
And that’s where the children were playing when their grandfather went into the bedroom.
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Tim Szymanski, from the fire department, told KSNV that the grandfather was unable to reach the children because of the rapidly spreading inferno. That’s why Angulo truly did save lives.
“It’s obvious if this person hadn’t been there, these children could’ve been burned or may have been killed in the fire.”