On Thursday, a Glendale mail carrier was awarded the USPS Postmaster General Hero Award after he tried to put out a fire that was destroying a house on his delivery route.
In February, Victor Castaneda dropped his mailbag and sprang into action when he saw a customer’s house catch fire.
“The closest water hose that I saw was the neighbor's house, which I had to pull all the way to the other side, focused on trying to help with the fire,” he told KNX News’ Craig Fiegener.
Anita Siraki, the homeowner, recalled seeing Castaneda’s heroic actions.
“There's 200 people standing in front of my house with their phones posting lives on TikTok and Victor was the only one that actually did something real,” she said. “There's Victor amongst the smoke.”
While Siraki’s home was destroyed in the fire, she praised Castaneda for going above and beyond to help.
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“I was like, ‘What can I do to recognize this man?’” she said. “Looked up and there's a USPS Hero Award, so I nominated him, and I'm really glad we're here today.”
Castaneda said helping out is in his nature.
“I think people should help once in a while,” he said.
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