Paul Pereira, a UPS carrier of 22 years, was traveling through Haverhill, Massachusetts, on his way to his last stop before wrapping up his route for the day when a terrifying image struck his eye as he came around a corner. What he saw caused him to scream to a stop in his huge brown truck as he leapt from the door and sprinted across the busy street and into a stranger’s front yard.
He climbed the stairs, his pulse hammering, and reached the door. Paul quickly began banging violently on the door, yelling for anybody within to unlock it. Paul was standing on the front porch of Brian and Tracy Lavender’s house, hoping to catch the attention of anyone who was there.
When the anxious banging started, Brian’s wife Tracy and his daughter Emily were at home. They had thought someone was barbecuing, but they were about to open the door to a horrific scene that would prove them incorrect. The Lavenders had to flee when Paul saw a raging fire on their front porch, which was engulfed in flames and threatened to burn down the whole house.
They did, thanks to Paul, escape the fire as brilliant orange, yellow, and red flames engulfed their front porch. He simply raced over, pounded on the door, and informed everyone inside, ‘Your home is on fire!’ Paul remembered. They had no idea the home was on fire.
The next thing she knew, there was pounding and ‘Fire, fire, fire get out,’ Brian Lavender said, referring to his wife, who was home at the time and had assumed the stench was from someone using a barbecue in the area.
When they made their way to safety, they dialed 911 as the fire raged on. Paul didn’t stop being a hero after alerting the family and saving them from the oncoming conflagration. Rather, he started shouting at passersby, pleading with them to fetch a hose.
Paul was not going to stand by and let the fire burn this family’s house. In fact, a neighbor’s cell phone video shows the determined UPS guy getting the garden hose he had asked neighbors to find and then going onto the porch to face the flames head-on.
He didn’t know how large the flames were until he viewed the video, Paul said. Actually, the smartphone film obtained at the moment demonstrates how brave Paul Pereira was that day, putting himself in danger for a perfect stranger.
By the time the fire brigade arrived, he had extinguished the fire. That whole porch would have been engulfed if he hadn’t been there, neighbor Peter Brown told the local press, reflecting on Paul’s heroic and unselfish action as the man placed himself in danger to rescue someone else’s house.
Today, when he travels through the area, the UPS guy is justifiably acknowledged as a local hero, earning high-fives from numerous people and even an embrace from Tracy Lavender herself after Paul possibly saved her life and her house. They had an emotional reunion when Paul stood up to fight the fire that threatened Lavender’s house.
He does not believe he is a hero. He believes anybody would do it if they spotted a fire, you know, act on it, Paul said, but the family, which was in the process of purchasing the property, says their appreciation is unfathomable. The specific origin of the fire is uncertain, despite the fact that it seems to have begun on a table.
What is known is that Paul Pereira’s courageous reaction rescued this family from more misery. Fortunately, he wasn’t driving down the street aimlessly, starring out the window, oblivious to what was going on around him. Rather, he was paying attention, glancing about, and keeping a close check on the surrounding area. He didn’t hesitate when he spotted an opportunity to make a difference. This is one UPS driver that always delivers.
