How a firefighter’s quick action saved his friend’s life

This story is part of the My Unsung Hero series, from the Hidden Brain team. It features stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else.

In 2022, Glenna Osborne’s father, Ronald Osborne, passed away. To prepare for his memorial service, the family went through his belongings. In the process, they came across a note that Ronald had written about his dear friend, Eddie Coleman. The two men were both firefighters and had battled blazes together for many years.

The note read, “For firefighter and special friend Eddie, who saved my life. John 15:13, ‘Greater love has no one than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.'”

Ronald had told his daughter and the rest of the family that Coleman had saved his life, but had never gone into detail. Curious to know more about her deceased father’s history, Glenna reached out to Coleman and asked if he would tell her what had happened.

Coleman told her about the day when he was 21 and her father was 19. They’d been called to a house fire.

“When they arrived, they saw a two-story home engulfed in flames. And Eddie and my father ended up on the roof fighting this fire,” Glenna said.

“My father went to take a step and he started to fall through the roof, and Eddie quickly reached in, grabbed the collar of [my father’s] firefighter coat and somehow pulled him up to safety — away from what my father had once said would have been a sure death.”

Before this event, the two men had been close. But the moment at the house fire bonded them together. They were friends until the day Ronald died.

Glenna is grateful that she learned Coleman’s full story. It gave her a new understanding of her father’s devotion to his friend.

“I’m so thankful that Eddie did this for my father and for my family… because without him, none of us would be here. So, we are just indebted to him for his courage and his quick thinking in the line of duty and the fact that he saved my father’s life.”

My Unsung Hero is also a podcast — new episodes are released every Tuesday. To share the story of your unsung hero with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.