Byrd caught his nephews, Junior and Royce, when they jumped from a window on the second floor. His eight-year-old niece Mercedes, however, was too afraid to jump after having watched Kayla fall from the roof.

Without thinking, Byrd dashed back into the house to rescue her. Within moments, he could feel the flames on him.

“I could feel it burning me,” he explained.

“I got her and took my shirt off and put it around her face so she wouldn’t breathe in any smoke and I just carried her out as fast as I could.”