PORTAGE, Mich. — Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they’re regular people who are in the right place at the right time— like Cedric Figures.
As an Amazon delivery driver, his only duty on Aug. 18 was to deliver a package to someone’s home, but that all changed when he saw fire, and someone who desperately needed his help.
“As I got closer, I'm like, 'Is that fire?' but I knew it was fire. And once I got to the door, he was screaming for help,” Figures recalled.
He wasted no time going inside the house, finding the fire extinguisher, and putting the fire out. Using a box top to fan away the smoke, Figures helped the older man get out of the home.
The Portage Fire Department arrived seconds later, and Figures went on about his day– delivering packages.
“We couldn't be more thankful that Cedric was in the right place at the right time, and was willing to, to jump into action to help one of our residents of the city of Portage,” said Jed Wild, assistant fire chief.
The fire started when the resident bumped his walker against the gas stove, turning it on by accident. “He had some stacks of both Tupperware-type containers and some other papers and cardboard sitting on top of the stove, which, you know, for exactly this reason can sometimes become a fire hazard,” Wild explained.
If Figures wasn’t there to help, the situation could have been a lot worse.
“There's a lot of, you know, chemicals and particulate that, that just rob your lung space of oxygen that we need. And that's what typically will overcome victims that are in fires, is just not being able to breathe,” he said.
While some may call Figures a hero, he says it's just the kind of person he is— and he would do it again, in a heartbeat.
“I feel like God put me in that spot for me to be there when that happened, because he literally said his son just left like two minutes ago, and then that happens,” he said.
Residents will have the opportunity to learn about fire safety and how to use an extinguisher at their open house, Oct. 7. The event is from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and will celebrate Fire Prevention Week.
