A police officer from the small town of Chadbourn in North Carolina is being praised for his heroic work after saving a man from a house fire.

According to police, Chadbourn first responders and fire crews responded to a large house fire on the 100 block of South Pine Street around 10 p.m. on January 21.

According to resident Ricky Haynes, he rushed home after a family member called him about the fire and saw his house surrounded by first responders.

That’s when Haynes said Officer Everett Lewis rushed in to save his brother, Edward Dowe, who was still inside the burning home and asleep on the couch when the fire broke out.

“As soon as I opened the door — the flames and draft hit me, and I couldn’t do nothing about it. At the time, I still didn’t see my brother because the smoke was covered. So, I sawhis feet, and so I’m like, man, my brother is in there. So, the police and the officers came and dragged him outside,” Haynes recalled.

Haynes was thankful for Everett’s brave action.

“They came and got him out just in time, because if they didn’t, ain’t no telling what would have happened. So, we got him out — we got him out in time.”

Fortunately, no injuries were reported during the fire, but the damage to the property was extensive.

“We totally lost everything. I mean, we’ve got to start over from everything. So, Red Cross is supposed to be helping us out with a lot, so hopefully everything will work out fine for us,” Haynes added.

Columbus County Fire Marshal Shannon Blackman said the cause of the fire is under investigation but believes that it started in the kitchen due to an accident.

Chadbourn is a small town in Columbus County, North Carolina, with a population of around just 1,500 people, according to 2020 census data.