Minnesota man runs into burning home to save those inside: "God put me in that position for a reason"
BUFFALO, Minn. -- A Minnesota man didn't think twice when a fire began in the duplex down the street.
"We heard a huge explosion like something broke," Matt Stewart said.
Stewart and his fiancee, Reanna Schlosser, were on their back porch in Buffalo on Wednesday when they heard that jarring boom. That, plus a bonfire smell, propelled Stewart into action from two doors down.
"It was black billowing smoke coming out," he said. "[I] got a fire extinguisher out of our garage, told Reanna to call 911 and it was go-time on that one."
As he pounded on the door, Stewart says the three people inside, including an elderly couple, were oblivious to what was happening on the floor above them.
Stewart helped them out, but no one was sure if the upstairs neighbor was home.
"I ran back inside one last time because I said to myself if there's somebody up there, I feel like I need to do my due diligence," Stewart said.
Schlosser says she yelled at him not to go back in.
"However, I knew he wasn't worried about himself," she said. "He was worried about the people inside."
Thankfully, the house was empty at that point. And after a few minutes inside, Stewart knew he needed to get out.
"I definitely felt the heat when I was in those stairs," he said. "I couldn't see anything. It was black."
Buffalo Fire Chief John Harnois told WCCO the fire started in a kitchen and the upstairs is now unlivable. He says the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
"God put me in that position for a reason yesterday," Stewart said. "It was for some way, shape or form that I'll never understand. To help somebody."
Stewart was treated for smoke inhalation. The people he saved weren't hurt.