“The adrenaline is still hitting me.” Vancouver-based Comcast Technician Alex Farias saved a number of lives on Wednesday evening when he realized an apartment in the complex he was working at was on fire.
“First I could smell something burning,” said Farias. “Then I saw thick black smoke. When I kicked in the door of the apartment, I saw the stove was on fire.”
That’s when he started running through the building, knocking on doors and windows, frantic to get everyone out. The two-story building in the Cascade Park area east of Vancouver has 16 units, and Farias’ sole focus was to make sure the building emptied.
“There was a woman with a tiny, newborn baby on the second floor. She was crying as she came downstairs. And the woman whose apartment was on fire was trying to get back inside. She said, ‘My whole life is in there.’” Farias recalled, “I had to tell her she couldn’t go back. The smoke was too heavy.” He said both he and a building security guard had to restrain her from going back upstairs to her apartment.
Farias was able to call 911 as he and the residents stood back watched windows blow out and the fire engulf the entire building. John Yoder, who lives in the building next door, saw the fire and came running with a hose, but by then it was too big. He called Farias “a savior.”
“I saw the Xfinity guy pounding on the doors. If it wasn’t for him, a lot of people would have lost their lives, including a new baby.” – John Yoder
