LCpl. Tad Steadman; saving the world

From the Beaufort Gazette comes the story of Lance Corporal Tad Steadman who is credited with risking his own life to save more than 20 people from an apartment fire last month;

Steadman said he had noticed a small fire on a second-floor balcony, but Hassan told him the fire was in a contained pit. A few minutes later, he turned back toward the building to find the fire had spread to the furniture and was making its way up the building.

Steadman yelled for Hassan to call 911 and began sprinting toward the building to the apartment where the fire had started.

“I started banging on the door, and a woman answered,” he said. “She was dazed, didn’t know what was going on, but she realized once she saw the fire.”

He and Hassan went door-to-door in the building, knocking on doors to get people out of the burning apartment. The two stayed in the building until the conditions drove them out.

“I only stopped once I couldn’t go any farther,” Steadman said. “I couldn’t see above me, and parts of the ceiling were falling down. If I had gone any further, I would’ve been overcome by smoke. I just hoped we had got to everyone in time.”

The fire ended up destroying 12 apartments. Steadman and Hassan (an Army veteran) had alerted 23 people through their heroic acts. Only one woman was treated for smoke inhalation – the only casualty of the fire. Hassan and Steadman were honored with an award for bravery by the community.

Category: Marine Corps, Real Soldiers