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Texas firefighters' act of kindness goes viral

Photo of firefighter mowing John McCormick's lawn

Last Tuesday, firefighters and EMTs were called to the home of John McCormick, 65, in Baytown, Texas.

McCormick suffered a heart attack while he was mowing his lawn. He managed to get inside his house before he collapsed. His family then called for help.

Emergency crews soon arrived and EMTs performed CPR until they got a pulse. Following standard procedure, the fire truck Engine 4 then followed the ambulance to the hospital.

On the way back to the station, the firefighters had an idea: Why not finish mowing the lawn for McCormick?

That’s just what they did.

"We’re all fighting over who can push the mower first," Station 4 Lieutenant J.D. Giles told KHOU 11 News.

"I just happened to get off the truck first and grabbed the lawnmower first. We were all fighting over it," said firefighter Blake Steffenauer.

The firefighters took turn mowing the lawn — at the front and back of the house — then locked the garage and put the padlock key in the mailbox along with a handwritten note to McCormick’s wife, Patsy:

"We felt bad that your husband didn’t get to finish the yard, so we did."

The letter concluded with an offer to do more:

"Let us know if there is anything we can do to help you out."

The act of kindness made McCormick’s daughter, Jeana Blackford, weep.

"It just showed me that there’s still compassion," she said. “That people still do random acts of kindness every day for people that they don’t know.”

"It just speaks to their character," McCormick’s son-in-law, Dan Blackford, said of the firefighters. “They say honour is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. That’s a fact. They were very honourable.”

A neighbour, Ashley Odom Chandler, took photos of the firefighters mowing McCormick’s lawn and posted them online. The sweet gesture went viral.

McCormick passed away two days later. Jeana Blackford publicly thanked the firefighters of Station 4 for their powerful act of kindness.

"Thank you. We love you," Patsy McCormick added.

McCormick, an Air Force Veteran, will be buried this week at the Houston National Cemetery with full military honours.