Good Samaritan steps in to put out house fire
By Raven Payne
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BALTIMORE (WMAR) — One Federal Hill man jumped into action Saturday, putting out a house fire.
WMAR 2 News spoke with that man, Charles Swaggerty, Monday night.
“It was definitely moving. Another 15 minutes the entire side of the house would have been uncontrollable until the fire department—it would have been a lot of damage,” Swaggerty said.
He told WMAR 2 News around 11 Saturday night he and his friends were walking along Light Street when they noticed something was wrong.
“I’d seen light; it was really smoky, and I was telling my buddy Phil that something’s on fire, obviously.”
Then they turned the corner.
“I hustled and happened to look over, and I was like, It’s right there.”
The side of a home was on fire, and Charles jumped into action.
“My Fire Marshall Bill instincts kicked in, and I went running. I got over there, and I put it out,” he said. “I was able to find a tub of water laying there, and that helped out a lot. I was stomping on it, putting lids on it.”
He and his friends pounded on neighbors’ doors to make sure they got out safely.
Charles told WMAR 2 News that even though the fire wasn’t too bad, with the flames sparking at row homes, he knew he had to move quickly before things got worse.
“Another 10 minutes I’m sure a few other houses would’ve been involved.”
He called 911 after he put the fire out, and thankfully no one was hurt.
Thinking back to that night, he said he was running on pure adrenaline.
“I don’t know. I just—I had seen it, and just reaction was just, You’ve got to put that out. I’m just happy that the Lord put me in the right spot at the right time.”
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