Stranger Punches Through Glass to Save Two Girls From Fire

Leon Segura wasn't a neighbor or a first responder. He was simply driving home in Fort Worth when he saw flames and heard children screaming.

Without a second thought, Segura pulled over and ran toward the burning home. He tried kicking in the front door, but the intense heat pushed him back.

The screaming and crying didn't stop. Segura raced to the back of the house and found a large glass door blocking his way inside.

He punched through it with his bare hand. Glass tore into his arm, but he kept going.

"I told myself, 'Lord help me,' and I knew I had to get those girls out," Segura said. He wrapped a bandana around his face and pushed through thick smoke into the home.

He found two young girls nearby and carried them out one by one. As he lifted the second child over his shoulders, explosions started echoing from the back of the house.

Firefighters arrived within four minutes, but those four minutes were everything. The two girls Segura rescued were airlifted to burn units in critical condition, and officials say they survived solely because of his actions.

"I can't say enough about the actions of Mr. Segura," said Fort Worth Fire Department spokesperson Craig Trojacek. "Those two kids that he pulled out, they're here because of him."

Segura later learned there had been another child inside. By the time he carried the second girl to safety, the fire had grown too intense to re-enter. Tragically, that child did not survive.

Seven people lived in the home, including five children. Two adults and another child escaped without injury.

Sunny's Take

After receiving treatment for his cuts, Segura stayed focused on the children, not his injuries. "I'm just really glad that the little girls are OK," he said.

As a father of two daughters himself, Segura saw the situation clearly. "What if it was one of my kids? I would want somebody to act immediately."

Sometimes a hero is just someone who refuses to keep driving.