An aspiring rapper is being celebrated as a hero after he saved the lives of four people by alerting them to the flames engulfing their home as they slept in Iowa on October 23.
According to KCRA, Brendon Birt, who goes by the moniker Blase 96 in his music career, took a wrong turn in the town of Red Oak when he came upon the home. He told the station: ‘I just felt like somebody was in there because it was so late at night.’
The owner of the house, Tender Lehman, was in Montana due to a family emergency when the fire occurred. Her three children and their 22-year-old brother, Bryce Harrison, were inside asleep on the fateful night.
The three youngest children were in the care of their brother while Lehman was away. The children are aged 17, 14 and 8.
The KCRA report says that the family continued to sleep despite the fire because the home’s smoke detectors did not go off.
When Birt noticed the fire, he began banging one windows until he was able to rouse those inside.
Birt told KCRA: ‘Like every second that was going by was just getting worse. I just felt like somebody was in there because it was so late at night, you know? I just knew that I had to act quick.’
Lehman posted the video showing the moment that her family escaped certain death on Instagram. The video was recorded by her Ring doorbell camera. She wrote in the caption: ‘The day our lives changed forever! But, from the ashes right??’
The video showed Lehman’s three young children escaping, they are followed by their eldest sibling.
The hero continued: ‘They came out the door. Like, I just felt like, I just wanted to break down and cry. Like, I don’t even know these people here.’
The horrific fire broke out on the night of October 23 in Red Oak, Iowa, around 110 miles southwest of Des Moines
Four siblings, ages 22, 17, 14 and 8, remained asleep inside as the flames engulfed the home
According to local reports, the family’s smoke detectors did not go off as the fire spread
It took Brendon Birt’s heroic actions to rouse the family from their beds to safety
Brendon Birt, pictured here, is an aspiring rapper who goes by the name Blase 96
When Lehman returned from Montana, she met Birt. The grateful mother said: ‘I’m so incredibly grateful, [for sure]. My kids wouldn’t have made it, man. They’re safe, and they’re safe because of him. I mean, lives were saved here. Souls.’
The home’s owner told KCRA that their home is destroyed and that five of their seven dogs were dead.
Christopher Lehman, the children’s father, told the station: ‘Everything was just black in the living room. There’s nothing left of it.’
The Stanton Fire and Rescue Department said on Facebook that it took them five hours to get the blaze under control.
The Red Oak Fire Department said that the cause of the fire is under investigation.
In an interview with NewsNationNow’s Prime, Birt described his thought process saying: ‘I decided to act real quick, because I knew how bad is bad to get. I just I had to assume that people were in there.’
He went on: ‘I just did what I had to do. Luckily it turned out to be the way it was supposed to be.’
Also speaking with the network, Lehman said that she considers Birt to be family now.
She said: ‘He has been in contact with my children every day. And I know that it’s a healing process for him just as much as it is for my kids.’
According to the Stanton Fire and Rescue, firefighters battled the blaze for five hours
The children’s grandmother wrote on Facebook: ‘This young man doesn’t look like a hero with his saggy pants, two tone braids and a stocking cap but he is our hero’
A GoFundMe page that has been set up for the family has raised over $7,500 at the time of writing. The goal of the page is $30,000.
According to the page, that was set up by Tender Lehman’s mother, Windy Monjarez, the family’s home is a ‘total loss.’
The page reads: ‘My son in law is a Union Boilermaker and my daughter is in college to become a nurse. Anybody who knows them, knows their hearts!’
It continues: ‘They would and have helped everybody who has ever needed it. They are homeless and have nothing left.’
On her Facebook page, Monjarez wrote of Birt: ‘This young man doesn’t look like a hero with his saggy pants, two tone braids and a stocking cap but he is our hero.’
She added: ‘Brendon Birt you are my hero! You will always be in my heart as the 25 yr old hipster hero that saved my four grandkids. I love you!’
According to his Facebook page, Brendon is a native of Red Oak, Iowa, and attended the University of Iowa.
In 2020, Brendon released his first album Misunderstood that ironically includes a track titled Get Out. He followed that up with his second album, Black Side.