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Uber driver rushed into a burning building, still carrying passengers to the airport


Fritz Sam has made thousands of rides since becoming an Uber driver in 2015. Until Wednesday, he had never stopped to rescue people from a burning building.

At about 8 a.m., Sam was driving a passenger car from Brooklyn, New York, to LaGuardia Airport when he noticed people in pajamas gawking and pointing phones at the footpath in the city’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. At first, he thought the riot was caused by a fight, but when a piece of debris fell from a second-story window, he realized the building was engulfed in flames.

With the passenger’s permission, he pulled over to assess the situation. And when someone said there were still residents inside, Sam said his brain had flipped and he rushed into the smoke-filled compound.

Sam, 54, told CNBC Make It: “I have visions of tunnels in those situations. “I don’t want to get hurt, but when people need help, I just want to do the right thing.”

Sam said he spent about six minutes inside and guided two residents by hand out of the building. One of them told them it was their AC unit that caught fire. She seemed shocked and hesitant to leave the hallway.

“I looked at her and said, ‘I’m not leaving until you leave,'” he said.

Firefighters entered the building as he helped a second person out. Sam said he spent a few minutes checking in on the people he helped, then someone tapped him on the shoulder and handed him his key. During the chaos, he parked his car in front of a fire hydrant, and another passerby parked his car at his property.

He also accidentally gave his phone to someone standing outside the building. It was returned immediately.

“It’s all about being in the right person at the right place at the right time,” says Sam. “Passengers don’t like, ‘Oh, let’s go.’ She cares too.”

The passenger, a writer named Jemimah Wei, told CNBC Make It that she followed Sam onto the sidewalk and joined the chorus of people shouting for people to evacuate. She said she was moved by Sam’s “strong moral compass”.

In the end, Sam and Wei got back in the car and made it to the airport on time. Wei later tweeted photos from the fire, commenting, “Everyone is so nice.”

The topic has gone viral.

Sam says he doesn’t consider his actions spectacular. “There’s nothing special about me,” he said. “I think this is in everyone.”

He said his parents owned a yellow taxi company when he was growing up, and he once stopped the car to check on someone whose car had caught on fire. “I hope I never have to do something like this again, but I can’t say I won’t,” Sam said. “You’ll be amazed at what any given moment can bring to you.”

On the phone, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi asked Sam for his story and thanked him for his efforts, Sam said. The company released a statement expressing gratitude for having “such a heroic and caring member.” [in] our community. “

Sam says he was not compensated for his actions and he didn’t expect it.

“In the service industry, our mission is to take care of passengers and people,” he said. “I think it’s in my nature to just want to do the little things that can make a big difference.”

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