Man Climbs Eight Floors to Save Girl from Burning Flat, Celebrates Her Second B-Day as Family – Story of the Day

After losing his daughter and consequentially divorcing his wife, Allan succumbed to depression and almost entirely gave up on life. After saving a little girl from a fire, Allan would find something to live for again.

Allan had given up on looking forward to the next day, to life. After the passing of his daughter, Alice, in a car crash a year ago, every day had become a battle to keep going. His wife left him shortly after Alice’s death, and everything spiraled down from there.

Depression had become his daily struggle, and the only thing that kept him going was knowing that Alice wouldn’t have wanted him to give up. So, he sucked up the urge to give up and went to work every day, praying the next day would be better than the last.

One day, as Allen was walking to work, he saw a crowd of people huddled together in panic. He approached them, and following the crowd’s gaze, he looked up to see a little girl on a balcony on the eighth floor crying as something burned from inside the house.

“Why isn’t anybody helping her?” Allan yelled.

“The firemen are on the way! We’ve tried to enter the building, but the door won’t budge,” replied one of the onlookers.

Without even a second thought, Allan climbed the rusted fire escape. The smoke seemed to increase rapidly, and it wouldn’t be long before the fire got outside to the little girl.

“Are you insane? She’s eight floors up, and that fire escape isn’t stable,” the onlooker shouted.

As Allan got to the seventh floor, one of the handles on the fire escape ladder snapped, loosening Allan’s grip. He fell to one of the balconies on the sixth floor, a good distance from the fire escape. The little girl’s cries were louder and more audible now.

“Please, help!! Please!” she cried.

“Don’t worry, I’m coming. I’m coming, Alice!” Allan yelled.

Allan quickly took off his belt and made a knot. He then swung it towards one of the window bars, and it hooked on. He then pulled himself up and swung to the fire escape, just managing to get a hold of it.

Allan continued to the eighth floor and grabbed the little girl who was now choking from the smoke. Fearful of going all the way to the bottom with the girl, he decided to jump to the balcony below him. By that time, the fire truck had arrived. He...