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Man describes heroic rescues at Denver construction site fire

Injured worker dragged another to safety
Posted at 6:18 PM, Mar 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-09 00:24:41-05

DENVER — As fire broke out at a construction site workers jumped to save their lives, but some were too injured to move and still too close to the flames. A witness took action to help drag others to safety, but he is adamant the real story is about an injured worker who helped another escape.

"The reason why I want to tell this is, just it’s humbling to see someone act so selfless and so brave and so heroic in such a dangerous situation," said John Raife.

Admittedly, Raife acted selflessly, too, when he jumped off his bike and ran toward the men. He was in the area of 18th and Emerson just as the fire broke out and before any first responders arrived.

"I heard a guy say, 'help me!'" said Raife.

When he heard cries for help, he noticed a man on the ground and another unconscious man next to him. 

"The one guy who said help me was clearly severely injured, and he was trying his best to drag his unconscious buddy away from the building," said Raife.

Raist helped them get to safety. He said the injured man got up and helped him drag the other guy away. Then he collapsed in pain. Raife went to get help and what seemed like moments later the building was engulfed in flames. 

He said the injured man stayed with his friend while he found a police officer. As the fire grew, Raife said the man helped once again drag the unconscious guy to a safer area.

"It was probably the most brave heroic thing I’ve ever seen or possibly will see and without a doubt saved the guy’s life," said Raife.

Raife has no idea who the men are, but he hopes they are doing OK. He wants nothing more than to let people know about the heroic actions of the injured man who stayed by his friend's side during this terrible fire.