MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A firefighter visiting South Florida rose to the occasion when he saw a fire burning through a Miami Beach apartment, Friday afternoon.
However, when Stuart firefighter Troy Sheets saw black smoke pouring out of an apartment building in Miami Beach, he knew he had to act.
“I knew that the person, if they were in there with that much smoke, they wouldn’t be alive,” Sheets said.
Sheets said his training kicked in instantly.
“I went to the two doors next to those and banged on those doors. The one at the end, there was an elderly man in there,” he said. “He started responding. I told him he needed to get out because it was a fire. Then I went to that first door and I kicked in the door and broke some of the glass — venting some of the smoke.”
Although he already had an arm injury, Sheets and his friend were persistent in making sure no one was in the apartment.
“That was my first thought, and I was able to do that with the sling by just banging on the windows and doors, yelling for help and then kicking in the window,” Sheets said.
Minutes later, first responders arrived and put out the flames and confirmed the home was empty.
Miami Beach Fire Rescue later thanked Sheets for his quick thinking and heroic actions. When asked why he did what he did, Sheets said he was just doing his job.
“I knew it was just in that growing stage, and I had a short period of time to save anybody,” said Sheets. “If anybody was in the apartment, and I knew that, that’s why I just went up there and started banging on the door,” Sheets said.
No injuries were reported in the overall blaze. The cause of the fire is currently unknown.
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