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Family Finds Mysterious Stranger Who Saved Their Dog From House Fire

It was like a scene out of a movie: As flames engulfed April and Brandon Gourley’s home and helpless neighbors stood watching, an unidentified man rushed in solo and saved their dog. He had been trapped inside while the Springfield, Tenn., family of six was out of town on Saturday.

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“This guy in a gray Mustang pulls up, says, ‘I do this for a living,’ and he runs in and he comes out about two minutes later with this beautiful dog in his arms, and it was incredible to see,” neighbor Jimmy Nichols, who videotaped the amazing rescue of the 1-year-old Bouvier, Sampson, told WSMV. “Literally 30 seconds after that guy got out, that roof collapsed.”

But since the good Samaritan just got in his car and drove away after his heroics, no one knew who to thank.

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“Who is this mysterious hero??” a local news station headlined their Facebook post of the footage. Meanwhile, a family member called the Gorleys — who had just driven 8 hours to Gulf Shores, Ala. to celebrate their seventh anniversary — and the couple immediately ended their vacation to find out what had happened, and who had helped. “We got in the car and drove right back,” April Gourley, whose children, ages 5, 9, 12 and 13, were safely elsewhere, told WKRN. (Yahoo Parenting was unable to reach the Gorleys for comment). Added their 13-year-old daughter Kirsten Spilka: “I want to really thank him for everything he has done. It’s just really an act of kindness.”

By Tuesday morning, the identity of the hero had finally been revealed: Fellow Springfield resident Tim Tawater, a 20-year veteran of the Nashville Fire Department, who’d spotted the inferno when he was driving by en route to his daughter’s birthday party.

“This is shockingly common for our folks,” Nashville Fire Department’s public information officer Brian Haas tells Yahoo Parenting of off-duty do-gooding like Tawater’s. “Just a couple of months ago we had a firefighter on his day off, riding his motorcycle around, spot a fire, and rescue five people from a burning apartment building. For him, and guys like Tim, going beyond the scope of duty on a day off is just in their blood.” The fact that Tawater left without identifying himself didn’t strike Haas as unusual either. “Most firefighters are not glory seekers,” he says. “They may be adrenaline junkies, but they’re not in this business for money or fame.”

Tawater’s take on why he acted without hesitation is even simpler. “I went by there concerned someone was in the house,” the father (who didn’t respond to Yahoo Parenting’s request for comment) told News Channel 5. And when he realized that the dog was inside, he went into work mode. “Around here,” said the firefighter, who has since met the thankful Gorleys in person, “dogs are family.”

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