SCHENECTADY, NY (WRGB) \u2014 A man who ran into a burning home to help a family escape was honored by the New York State Assembly for actions credited with saving multiple lives.<\/p>\n
David Hester was recognized with a New York State Assembly citation for what was described as selfless courage after a fire on May 31 at a home in Schenectady where Lavern Johnson and her family lived. The fire was determined by the investigators to be caused by a lithium e-bike battery that failed<\/a>, which was stored on the porch.<\/p>\n \u201cI will never forget this you know and I said I have to meet this person who saved me and saved the entire family,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n Johnson said she realized something was wrong when she heard someone trying to get her attention from outside.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard the window knocking. Ma’am, come out, come out,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n Hester was playing pickleball across the street at Hillhurst Park when the fire started. He went into the home before first responders arrived to help people who could not get out on their own.<\/p>\n \u201cI got upstairs and I checked in front of the porch. There was nobody in the living room where in the front porch where the fire initiated. I checked in first bedroom I found a younger child,\u201d Hester said.<\/p>\n After getting the boy out safely, Hester says he went back into the burning home three more times to help Johnson, her nephew, who has cerebral palsy, and her mother.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw a lady on the floor. I went and picked her up and brought her outside. That\u2019s when I was hit by a piece of burning wood. It hit me in my head, burned my shoulder was a little bit and came down and hit me in my ankle. I still managed to get everybody out pretty safely,\u201d Hester said.<\/p>\n Just over a month later, the Johnson family reunited with Hester at the site where their home once stood<\/a> as Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara presented the citation.<\/p>\n \u201cNo trained firefighting experience. No first responder training. Just looking to see if anybody’s in danger, to get them to safety. To me, that’s all the elements of a leader in our community, a hero,\u201d Santabarbara said.<\/p>\n Johnson said her family is expected to move into a new apartment next week, but lost all of their possessions and documents in the fire. The family has raised almost $3,000 through two GoFundMe fundraisers, but still needs help replacing what was lost. Links to both can be found below.<\/p>\n Disabled Twins & Caregiver Lost Everything in Fire<\/a><\/p>\n