BALTIMORE — Patterson Park has a new hero and on Tuesday night he was fighting for his life.
Pierre Gibbons ran across the street into a fire to save his 77-year-old neighbor.
RELATED: Neighbor becomes trapped with 77-year-old woman he tried rescuing from house fire
Desiree Peterkin was home when the fire broke out and tried to get out the back door, but the flames were too hot.
“It stopped me dead in my tracks and so I ran out the front door,” said Peterkin. “That’s when I had a better view of the flames.”
Her car was melted in spots and the siding on her home was wilted.
Peterkin and everyone else in the neighborhood are thinking about Peterkin and Ms. Sandy the woman he risked his life to save.
“He just went in to take care of someone, I think he would have done that for any one of us,” said Peterkin.
A video shared on Facebook shows Gibbons rushing into the front of the home.
He went into the home when he realized that no one could find Ms. Sandy
He got her out of the basement where she was trying to save her pets, but the smoke and flames became too much.
“I think right there in the living room is where he collapsed, but he protected her by laying on top of her. Obviously was a key to saving her,” said Arch Mckown a leader in the community.
Fire crews got them out, but they both went into cardiac arrest.
He's in critical condition with third degree burns all over his body.
“I appreciate everything you do and your such truly the definition of a hero,” said McKown. “We love you.”
Four homes seriously damaged--the cause still under investigation.
A community holding out hope that their hero and a woman who has been a staple of the community for years make it back.
