A man is being called a hero after his quick thinking during a fire early Tuesday morning.
The fire happened at around 3 a.m. at Stone Ridge Meadows apartments.
Bakr Mayyahi told News 10 that he looked out the window that morning and saw the flames. He told his roommate to call 911 and sprang into action.
"I scream, 'wake up!' and him not listening because it's three in the morning. All people are asleep and everything was quiet," Mayyahi said.
Mayyahi made his roommate talk on the phone to authorities because he doesn't speak much English.
The Iraqi refugee said he was worried about the man sleeping inside the apartment as he saw the smoke and flames rising, so he and his roommate used their resources.
"I come here with my friend to try to wake up the man. We start to hit the doors, throw the rock at the windows to have him wake up," he said.
Throwing the rocks worked. Neighbors say the man inside was able to wake up and walked out of the apartment on his own. They added that he is alive because of Mayyahi.
"They woke him up. He got out safe. And as I said before, Bakr is the hero to this story. I just thank God that everyone was safe," neighbor Tom Frankovich said.
Mayyahi says that he was happy to help and he encouraged others to do the same if they ever find themselves in a similar situation.
"It's a fire. If you can help...of course you go help him. It's so good and so nice and it's just... it's a life," he said.
People who live in the complex say they are happy to have someone like Mayyahi living in their apartment complex.
"The greatest thing is to love your neighbor as yourself. And that's what he was doing," Frankovich said.
The man who was in the building is doing well, neighbors said.
The man's cats were found safe later on, neighbors said. They originally had thought the cats hadn't made it out in time.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A firefighter was also hurt in the fire, but authorities say he is doing well.
