LYNNWOOD — When Abraham Makonnen and Patrick Bennett risked their lives to save a neighbor, they weren’t looking for anything in return.
But when the community recognized them as heroes Monday evening, they couldn’t help but be proud.
Lynnwood Fire Department honored the two men at a City Council meeting Monday, presenting them with certificates, T-shirts and heartfelt gratitude.
Less than two months ago, the two friends evacuated all neighbors and put out a dangerous fire in their apartment complex.
Just after midnight on July 24, Makonnen was taking out the trash outside his apartment complex when he heard a strange sound.
When he looked up, Makonnen said he saw fire and smoke coming out of a window on the third floor.
Like any citizen probably would, he called 911. But he didn’t stop at that.
Maybe it was because, as Makonnen’s 12-year-old daughter said, he has always secretly wanted to be a firefighter, but Makonnen grabbed a fire extinguisher and woke his neighbor, Bennett, and together they ran through the complex banging their hands on doors to wake other residents.
They kept pounding on the door of the apartment where the fire was burning.
When the woman who lived there finally answered — she had fallen asleep with lit candles — they managed to put out the fire and bring her safely down.
If it weren’t for Makonnen and Bennett, the woman would have probably died in her apartment that night, Lynnwood Fire Department Lt. Keith Shaw said.
Shaw, who was one of the firefighters at the scene that night, said he was impressed with the men’s actions.
But Makonnen’s wife, Deborah Arthur, said she couldn’t call her husband’s actions unusual.
“He is always coming to your rescue, but he always leaves,” she said. “This time, he was still there and everybody noticed.”
Arthur said Makonnen and Bennett are always ready to help others and don’t look for gratitude.
“We have always been proud. Now, other people are proud, too,” she said.
Reporter Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452 or kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
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