Umar Fox is living a full life thanks to Joseph Gilmore, the retired Boston firefighter who saved him and his sister from a fire 45 years ago.
Only 3 years old at the time of his rescue in 1978, Umar had always wanted to meet the man who saved his life, according to The Boston Globe.
Now, four decades later, he has finally managed to track down the former firefighter using social media – and the pair have been emotionally reunited in the local community.
When he saw his savior, Gilmore joked, “Little Umar isn’t so little anymore,” po The Boston Globe.
Firefighter and veteran with stage 4 cancer gets mortgage from nonprofit: ‘So humbling,’ says wife
Gilmore, a Boston firefighter for 38 years, also told Umar he “wouldn’t want to come get you right now, my friend,” before the pair embraced, according to footage captured by Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.
At the long-awaited get-together, which was also attended by Umar’s mom Silvia Fox and George Rizer — who photographed the rescue for The Boston Globe — Umar told WCVB, “This guy saved our lives.”
“We wouldn’t be here. I have wonderful children,” added Umar, who is now the father of three children and the stepfather of two children.
Woman becomes firefighter for department that saved her during 2016 suicide attempt: ‘There’s always help’
He said of his sister Lisa, who was unable to attend the reunion due to illness, “My sister has great kids. They’re all grown up and doing great things right now.”
Umar, now a school bus driver, told Gilmore, “What you did in return saved other people’s lives and brought more into the world.”
According to The Boston Globethose lives include not only Umar and Lisa’s children, but also a child Umar saved from drowning as a teenager and two people he talked out of suicide while working as a recovery coach.
Silvia also thanked the retired firefighter for saving her son and daughter, telling Gilmore: “You weren’t just doing your job. You did well.”
Umar Fox and Joseph Gilmore.
WCVB Channel 5 Boston
And while Gilmore remembers the Dec. 26, 1978, fire at the Fox family’s home in Dorchester, Mass., while the children were on vacation and Silvia, a single mother, was at work, he said it didn’t seem like it at the time. particularly noteworthy, The Boston Globe reported.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After carrying the siblings down the front steps of the house to an ambulance, as seen in Rizer’s photo, Gilmore went back inside and continued to put out the fire, he told the newspaper.
Rizer, who brought copies of his photo for both families, said the black-and-white photo is one of hundreds of photos of fires and other rescues he’s taken over his decades-long career, according to The Boston Globe.
But he is grateful that this blossomed into a beautiful story.
“The worst thing you can hear on a police or fire scanner on the way to any event is ‘kids trapped,'” Rizer told the newspaper after the reunion. “You don’t want to hear it, but if you get there, you do [see] if God allows them to be saved like this.”
“We go to bad things looking for happy endings, hopefully,” he added.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education