A Postal Service employee who rescued a customer from a blaze that broke out in a senior community received the top hero of the year award from the National Association of Letter Carriers.
Christopher Perez, a Yorktown Heights, NY, letter carrier, was on his route when he spotted smoke coming from an area to which he had already delivered. He drove back to the site, where several people had gathered to watch flames consume a four-unit building.
Perez, who knows many of the building’s older residents rely on canes and walkers for assistance, ran to each door and knocked to warn them of the fire and instructed them to evacuate. He spotted one man trapped on a second-floor balcony.
First responders were on the way, but the fire was growing quickly around the disoriented resident. Perez tried to enter the unit through the front door to help the man, but the heat was so intense it singed his beard.
“It was like a fight-or-flight situation, and I chose to fight,” Perez said.
He drove his vehicle as closely and safely as he could up to the home. He climbed onto the roof of the vehicle, which was high enough for him to reach the balcony banister.
He successfully helped the customer off of the balcony and then went on to finish his route.
“It was a blessing … to be in that position to be able to do something,” he said.
The union, also known as NALC, recognized three letter carriers as regional heroes: Kyle Quillen of Camden, NJ, who helped a woman, her baby and the family’s dog escape a house fire; Jairo Lopez of Midwest City, OK, who, with the assistance of nearby maintenance worker, helped an older, deaf woman escape her smoke-filled trailer; and Sydney Billingsley of Dayton, OH, who helped save a man who had been shot multiple times.
The Humanitarian of the Year Award went to Meagan Murray of Waterloo, IA, a letter carrier who called 911 after spotting smoke in an older customer’s home. She helped evacuate the soot-covered woman and stayed with her until responders and her family arrived.
Two letter carriers received NALC’s Vigilant Hero Award: Theodore May of Buffalo, NY, who came to the rescue of a 3-year-old boy who had wandered away from his nearby day care center; and Rafael Pozo of Arlington Heights, IL, who kept people away from a burning garbage truck before it exploded.
Honorable Act awards went to letter carriers Tiffany McCarty of Wichita, KS, who aided a woman in distress as she escaped a domestic violence situation, and Alex Skomra of Buffalo, NY, who used naloxone to reverse a customer’s opioid overdose.
Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino spoke at the ceremony and recognized the heroic efforts of the awardees.
“You don’t just deliver the mail. You deliver a constant and become part of the fabric that binds communities together. And while our letter carriers have many remarkable qualities that the American public cherishes, the quality of going above and beyond the call of duty is at the top,” he said.
A panel of independent judges determined the awardees in each category.
Several of the NALC award honorees also received recognition from the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program.
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