"Mistake" Leads Good Samaritan to Rescue 4 Siblings from Blazing Fire
Brenden Birt now knows a wrong turn can save a life — his wrong turn led this good Samaritan to save four lives.
Abbie Petersen of KETV in Iowa reports that Tender Lehman, mother of four, was in Montana for a family emergency when her house caught fire. All four of her children, ages 22, 17, 14, and 8 were still inside.
“That’s when a driver’s wrong turn led him to do the right thing in saving four lives.”
According to Faithwire, “Brendon Birt was driving in Red Oak, Iowa, last weekend, when he mistakenly turned down the wrong road — an error that, in retrospect, seems quite miraculous. It was moments after he turned down the incorrect street that Birt noticed the house fire.”
He told KETV he “just felt like somebody was in there, because it was so late at night.”
Amazingly, the inferno was captured on the family’s Ring doorbell. Footage shows Birt, the good Samaritan, sizing up the situation, calling for people to come out, and pounding on windows. There is no sound of any smoke alarms.
The ring footage then shows the three minor children bursting through the front door amidst smoke and flames. Birt described his reaction to reporters, “They came out the door … I just felt like I just wanted to break down and cry.”
After a breathtaking few more moments, their adult brother emerged through the same door before the home was completely engulfed.
“Tender Lehman, is forever indebted to Birt. ‘My kids wouldn’t have made it, man,’ she said. ‘They’re safe because of him. I mean, lives were saved here.'”
Sadly, the family lost five of their seven dogs to the smoke and flames. Firefighters from the Red Oak Fire Department were able to rescue two of the dogs, says the Des Moines Register.
The family has been staying together with the surviving dogs in a pull-behind camper. It’s cramped, but still, Lehman feels blessed. First, her children were miraculously saved when one man made a wrong turn.
Second, her community has rallied around the family.
“Lehman said that one blessing from the aftermath of the fire has been the support her family has received from others in Red Oak. ‘It’s been overwhelming, but it’s overwhelming in a way that I’m so grateful for,’ she said.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. There is a GoFundMe set up for those who wish to help the family.
We can all be grateful for their safety and that Samaritans like Brenden know how to make the best of a wrong turn.
