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Neighbor rescues Hampton man from burning home

Posted at 10:52 PM, Mar 31, 2013
and last updated 2013-04-01 06:28:48-04

Hampton, Va. - It was an Easter miracle.

That's what the family of Jeremiah Speller, 55, is saying after he was rescued from his burning Hampton home Sunday

The man who saved him was 18-year-old D'Sean Lee who lives across the street.

After a fire started in the upstairs bedroom of Speller's home on Parkdale Ave, Lee saw his neighbor struggling to get out of a downstairs window.

"He was screaming and thankfully my mama had her window open, which is rare sometimes, and she heard him,"  said Lee.

The front door was locked from the outside and Lee says Speller's leg was caught on something.  He wasn't really thinking about what he did next. "Just went over there, picked him up, pulled him out and brought him across the street to the house."

Crews were able to quickly put out the fire once they arrived.

Speller was taken to the hospital for burns to his face.

Speller's aunt, Gwendolyn Person, says he is one lucky man.  "He has a daughter and four grandchildren to take care of and everything," Person said.  She calls Lee a hero.

"That's what neighbors are for I guess.  I would do it for anybody, and I hope they would do it for me if I needed it,"  Lee said.

Speller's family says he is in the emergency room being treated for burns to his face, but they say he should be released soon.  They say the fire started from a short in an extension cord.