A 62-year-old man hailed as a hero for saving a baby from a burning house in Cleveland.
Early Monday morning, a life-threatening blaze engulfed a home on West 102nd Street in Cleveland. Amidst the chaos, John Stickovich, an Army veteran, emerged as a hero.
Stickovich was on his way to work when he noticed smoke pouring from the two-story house. Without a second thought, he stopped to help.
“The mother was sitting on the lawn with her one baby, and I asked her if she was all right. She said, ‘My baby is still in the house,’ and I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God, I have to save the baby,'” Stickovich recalled.
Stickovich kicked in the side door but was met with heavy smoke and flames. He quickly moved to the back of the house, crawling through an open door to the kitchen.
Despite his efforts, he couldn’t find the child. He returned outside to ask the mother for the baby’s location. She informed him that the baby was next to the kitchen by the baby gate. With this information, Stickovich made another attempt. Crawling under the smoke, he searched desperately.
“It was getting so bad in there, I was getting ready to leave actually, and then the baby cried or made a sound, so I’m thinking to myself, ‘The baby is right here,'” he said. “I just lurched forward and my arm went across his leg. I grabbed him by the leg, pulled, and then we were both out.”
Firefighters later confirmed that if Stickovich had not acted as quickly as he did, the child would have perished in the smoke and flames.
Lt. Mike Norman from the Cleveland Fire Department praised Stickovich, stating, “He risked his life to bring that baby out. He did an amazing job this morning.”
The situation was dire even for the firefighters. Two of them were injured while battling the blaze, with one becoming trapped under debris after the front porch collapsed. Fortunately, his colleagues managed to rescue him.
“They called a mayday on the radio,” Lt. Norman explained. “Whenever we have a mayday, it’s something that we practice for. We have a rapid intervention team that stands ready to rescue a firefighter in that sort of event, which they did this morning.”
Stickovich, who retired from the Laborers Union Local 310 and now runs his own repair business, said his only previous experience with fires was during demolition projects.
“I feel wonderful that I could save the baby. That mother doesn’t have to mourn her baby. That baby gets to live today,” he said. “Everybody is just calling and saying how great of a job it was, but I mean, I would do it for anybody, it doesn’t matter. And I would hope that somebody would do it for me.”
“Thank you Lord for making me find this baby,” Stickovich stated. “I just thought that, you know, ‘This baby’s not dying today.'”
Stickovich’s story reminds us that God often places us in the right place at the right time to carry out His will.
We may not always understand why we are where we are, but we can trust that God has a purpose for us.
This story also teaches us to be ready to act when needed. In times of crisis, our faith and trust in God can give us the courage to take bold steps.
As we think about this incident, let us trust in God’s timing and placement in our lives.
We may face situations that seem beyond our abilities, but with faith and determination, we can make a difference.
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