Shelby County man braves burning apartment to search for residen

A young man in Shelby County may have saved lives during a fire at his north Shelby apartment complex.

Around 9:20 a.m. on Saturday morning, residents were told to evacuate from a few units in the Stonecrest Apartment Complex located right off Highway 280. The blaze started in the unit directly below Josh Wilson's apartment. His wife called 911. Worried that someone might be inside, Josh broke down the burning unit's door and crawled from room to room to see if anyone was inside.

"It was really hard to breathe, so I crawled in to see if anyone was in there, no one was in there," said Wilson. "I went to go in the master bedroom and that's where I could see all the smoke and fire. I came back out and grabbed a fire extinguisher and put it out the best I could."

The woman who lives in the unit was not home at the time. Other than suffering from some smoke inhalation, Josh says he is fine.

Sunday was Josh's birthday and he says being able to help out was his best present.

Copyright 2012 WBRC. All rights reserved.