APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — An Appleton woman recently credited a firefighter with saving her life. He responded to a fire in a duplex on Appleton’s north side Jan. 18.
The identity of that man was unknown, until now.
Mystery solved.
Less than a day after FOX 11’s story aired, a viewer tip came into the FOX 11 inbox on social media. The story rang a bell for that viewer, who told FOX 11 it was his brother who ran toward the fire that January morning.
Jack Sides is an active firefighter for the Milwaukee Fire Department and didn’t want any recognition. In fact, he really didn’t even want to do the interview. Luckily, for us, Sides finally agreed.
“I just feel like I was just an average person that day, you know, take the firefighter away from it, I’m just an average person still doing the same thing that I’d want anyone else to do in that situation,” Sides said.
Sides just so happened to be on the next street over, helping his brother move, when he saw the smoke and ran toward the house. But, according to him, he wasn’t the only one.
“Another gentleman and I, we made entry through the house that was not on fire; there was some smoke in it, but not on fire,” Sides explained. “Then, him and myself both found the lady inside.”
This other man and Sides were able to get Virginia Muyano and her dog out safely, but another dog was left behind. That’s when Sides and this other brave stranger would put their own lives at risk, yet again.
“The other gentleman – I don’t know his name – he was very heroic, too,” said Sides. “We went in together, you know, I told him, I said, ‘Hey, you know, I’m a firefighter. We’ll go in and grab the dog, and we’ll shut the doors and get out,’ and he did that.”
And, while Muyano referring to Sides as a guardian angel does make Sides feel good, he doesn’t seem to see himself that way and says he was just doing the right thing.
“If I was in that situation, I’d want someone to do the same for me. If that was my family, my brother, my sister, my mom, whoever it would be,” Sides said.
But even after a fire rescue, there was still more work to be done.
“Right after that fire, I went back and helped move my brother the rest of the day,” said Sides.
Five adults and six children, along with three pets, were forced from the duplex that caught fire.
One pet died.
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