Manny Sharp has worked at Medford Fire for over 10 years, and this week his crew at station 15 recognized him as a hero.
Manny was enjoying his day off, when he saw black smoke rising near his home.
Manny rushed his way over to a neighbor’s house, in sandals.
He saw a garage, completely involved in flames.
When he arrived, it was unclear if anyone was inside until a neighbor told him there was.
Manny Sharp told us, “I hesitated a little, because I was knocking on the door first. And then he started yelling that there’s kids in there, and I started looking around when I saw the kid’s toys. I was like ‘well I better check this out,’ and that’s when I ended up kicking the door.”
Behind the door were two kids, sleeping on the couches.
Manny scooped them up and brought them to safety.
The parents of the children arrived shortly after.
Manny said, “The mom was running in because she was like ‘my kids!’ and I was like ‘no don’t go in there I got them out!’ and that’s when she said there’s a third one in there. And I was like ‘ah man, stay right here! Your kids need you, I got this.’ So, I ran back in.”
Manny sprung back into action to find the third child.
He made his way to a back bedroom and found them.
Manny wrapped the child in a curtain, and they escaped through the bedroom window.
Grants Pass firefighters soon arrived to put out the flames.
While the family thanked him for his heroics, Manny told me he was just doing his job.
He said, “To me I’m not a hero. Like I said to many of the guys, anybody would’ve done the same thing, anyone I work with…”
Manny’s crew has been celebrating him with decorations all over the station.
They told us that Manny is a true example of a great human being.
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