When Queens, NY, Letter Carrier Joseph Urbina heard loud crying and screaming coming from the fourth floor of an apartment house, he ran toward the building and saw a raging fire inside one of the units.

Urbina immediately called 911 and helped a family escape from the burning apartment. Then he ran through the building, knocking on all apartment doors and warning residents to get out.

The next day, tenants from the building came to Urbina’s Post Office to thank him. Even though the tenants were displaced by the fire, they were grateful to be safe and credited Urbina with saving their lives. “You need more people like him in the world,” said one of the tenants.

“These people know me,” said Urbina. “They’re like my extended family. If I hadn’t been in that building at that precise moment, who knows what might have happened.”

The letter carrier was recognized for his heroic actions during National Superhero Day and through the PMG Hero Program. To nominate an employee as a hero, submit a completed nomination form.

via USPS News Link Story – ‘Family’ man.