Rahshon Dixon yesterday received the keys to his city -Paterson in New Jersey- for his heroic actions that saved his neighbors during a fire that could have been tragic.
Dixon rescued her neighbors from her home on 197 Rosa Parks Boulevard from the flames in April, including a girl 7 years old and his grandfather from 84. “There was no time to be scared… It was God’s will that I be where I was that day,” he told ABC News.
Rahshon Dixon received the keys to the city of Paterson for his heroic actions that saved his neighbors. Dixon rescued the Lapaix family from their home after spotting flames shooting from a second-floor window. https://t.co/8gryN0Y6al pic.twitter.com/V2wzIXddQJ
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) June 3, 2022
The house is now boarded up and badly damaged by the fire. But the Lapaix family is grateful to be alive. “You appreciate it because you never expect it to happen to you,” said Jude Lapaix.
Dixon insists it was fate that put him there that day. He was on his way to his home when he saw the flames on the second floor of the house. He claims that he didn’t think twice before entering. “The fire was coming out of the windows… That’s why I jumped into the house.”
“This is the era where people take out their cell phones and start recording… He didn’t do that. He quit and acted”
Brian McDermott, Fire Chief of Paterson, NJ
The hero, a veteran of 13 years of the Department of Public Works (DPW), was honored this week by the Mayor of Paterson by handing him the keys to the city. “There is a young man in Paterson who is a superhero in his own right,” Mayor Andre Sayegh said.
“This is the era where people take out their cell phones and start recording,” said Paterson Fire Chief Brian McDermott. “He didn’t do that. He left it and acted. He did everything that we would do. He did it without training, without equipment and with his heart.”
The fire of 26 in April left 13 homeless, according to Paterson Times. The cause is still under investigation.
Meet the Silk City superhero, AKA Rahshon Dixon of Paterson, NJ!
Last week, Dixon ran into a burning building to save 4 people. Not training. Not gear. He went back into the burning home to look for a man & a dog. Today, Dixon is receiving the 🔑 to the city. @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/m1ZYOGSItS— Melissa Colorado (@melissacolorado) June 2, 2022
