ALTON – Rick Watters is not one to want the limelight of being a hero, but he showed considerable care for others when he threw his car into park and ran to a burning home on Seminary last week and helped get the family out.
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Watters was on his way to work early Friday morning when he saw an unmistakable site – a glowing fire on a house in the 2000 block of Seminary in Alton.
After he stopped his car in the middle of the road, he dashed to the house, yelling as loud as possible the entire way to the family’s doorstep. Before he even banged on the door, he was greeted with a woman and her young child and he told them they had to get out immediately. He saw another youngster at the doorway and helped scoop him up, then went back to help the other homeowner help get an elderly man to safety with his dog.
“I saw smoke on the right-hand side of the road and as I got closer, I saw the house was burning flames pretty high up,” he said. “I went up there yelling, trying to wake someone up. Thank God everybody is alive and able to get out quick enough.”
The family members in the home ranged from age 2 to 77, with a couple, two young children and one of the couple’s father in the home at the time the fire broke out. The Alton Fire Department was soon on the scene and extinguished the difficult fire, preserving the home for the family.
“I yelled all the way as soon as I opened the car door,” he said. “I work at a packaging plant, so I left and went to work.”
A few minutes after exiting the scene, Watters became emotional about what had just happened. He hopes anyone else would do what he did if they ever saw a fire occurring in someone’s home.
“I am just glad I was there at the right time and able to help,” he said.
