Army National Guard Private Emmanuel Mensah,28, returned home for the holidays and was staying with close friends when a fire broke out in their Bronx apartment building.
A 3-year-old boy playing with the stove started the fire that killed 12 people.
One of them being Private Mensah, who went in and out of the build helping others escape the flames. He rescued a family of 6, including their 4 kids before the fire department arrived. However, the third time that he rushed into the building to save more residents was his last.
As heart-rending as the news was to his family, it didn’t come as a surprise that Emmanuel sacrificed is life for others. His father, Kwabena Mensah told CNN that it was always in Emmanuel’s nature to help people out.