Heroic Marine Catches Child Falling From Third Floor Of Burning Building

When guys try out for the high school football team, they may do it to stay fit or because they love sports or the game. They may never imagine they’d end up using those skills to save a life!

Just that happened when Philip Blanks, who played football in high school, caught a child who was dropped from the third floor of a burning building, CBS affiliate WWMT reports. 

A hero twice already

Philip Blanks is both a former wide receiver for Kalamazoo Central High School in Michigan and a retired U.S. Marine, so he’s a hero already, but now he’s a hero again after saving the child’s life.

The amazing video of the July 3 fire shows Blanks' catch, which quickly spread across social media. He told WWMT that he was at the building to meet up with a friend to workout. That's when he heard screaming.

He ended up getting quite the workout after all!

Blanks didn’t hesitate for even a moment before running and diving to catch the child he recalled as "twirling like a helicopter" as he fell from the third floor balcony, WWMT reports. 

"People were screaming 'there are kids up there' and to throw the kids down," Blanks said.

I saw another guy was standing there ready to catch the boy, but he didn't look like he was going to do it, so I stepped in front of him. The way I caught him, I fell on my side, and of course damaged his foot, but the most important thing is that his head was safe

Blanks cradled the child as he falls, then ran away from the burning building with the boy in his arms.

In another video, the child’s mother, Rachel Long, is seen throwing her son over the balcony, Arizona's Family reports. The boy has been identified as a 3-year-old named Jameson, according to the station. Rachel, unfortunately did not survive the fire.

Be a hero when you hear the call

Blanks' incredible heroism is unmatched but that doesn't mean that we can't take inspiration from it. Sure, we're not all physically capable of catching a child falling from a building, but we can respond in situations when our help is needed. Whatever we can do to be someone's hero is always going to be good enough.

More uplifting news:

• Two Friends Save an Old Man From A Deadly Fire By Climbing the Building
• Hikers Finally Found After Surviving 18 Days In Wilderness
• Heroic Uncle Rushes Into Burning Building to Save His Niece
• Nurse Adopts Hospitalized Baby Girl Who Went Months Without Any Visitors
• Brave Chaplain Runs Into Burning Notre-Dame to Save Priceless Relics