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College Student Runs Into Burning Home to Save 80-Year-Old Woman, ‘It Was Instinct’

A brave student helped a woman from her burning home and now locals are hailing him as a hero.

It may have been meant for the Anne Arunel Community College student, Tré Williams, 20, to be in the area on Wednesday, May 2, seeing as he usually takes the bus from campus, but this particular day he decided to take a stroll because of the sunny weather. However, the home of 80-year-old Gail Johnston immediately caught his attention.

“I didn’t really think much. I just, it was just an instinct,” Williams told WBAL TV. “So I jumped over the fence and I opened the door and saw that her arm was tangled up, so I just took her off of it, and that’s when she just kept saying, ‘What’s happening? What’s happening?’ I grabbed her, put her arm around my shoulder and I just kept saying, ‘We’ve got to go.'”

Johnston and Williams made it out of the home without sustaining major injuries.

The homeowner’s daughter Carleen Perez, said her mother is currently fighting cancer. However, she is extremely thankful for Williams’ heroic act.

“Thankfully, a young person like that, going up there and taking the initiative to bang on the door and get somebody out, he’s just, he’s a brave, brave soul, because the house was on fire. So we appreciated that because we love our mom, and we were just so happy that Tré did that,” Perez said. Her mother did suffer from minor injuries and is currently staying with Perez. The family referred to Williams as a “guardian angel.”

The college student said he was only following his natural instincts.

“I don’t think I really did anything too spectacular. I think anyone in that situation would have done the same thing because any of us would want someone to help us if they needed us to,” the hero said.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department deemed the fire an accident and said it began in a mulch bed and was caused by smoking materials.

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