Michael Waite was on his regular route at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday delivering mail at Terrace Gardens condos when he saw a man come out of the building with no shirt on.
“I dropped a package right outside the door of 34, and then that’s when I saw the gentleman come out of this door here, and the smoke was just billowing over his head,” Waite said.
After seeing flames break out at this condo complex, the U.S. Postal Service mail carrier knew he had to act quickly.
“The flames started getting bigger, so at that point adrenaline kind of kicked in, and I just started running from door to door, slamming on the doors, yelling ‘Fire,’ telling people to get out,” he said.
Waite, whose regular mail route includes the condo complex, knew many people were home at that time. Despite plumes of smoke and shattered glass all around him, he kept moving forward, making sure to reach every door of the building.
“It just felt like something I had to do,” he said. “I was the only one out here, so it felt like the right thing to do.”
Without thinking twice, he put his own life in danger to make sure everyone made it out safely.