Maintenance Worker Saves Elderly Disabled Woman from Apartment Fire

By Sydney Franklin, WRAL multiplatform producer
Posted August 19, 2021 4:19 p.m. EDT
WRAL.com

DHA Karuan Goldsberry, maintenance officer, sprang into action when he saw black smoke coming from a Liberty Street Apartment unit.

Karuan Goldsberry just finished lunch on Aug. 6 and was on the way to his next assignment when he heard fire alarms and a woman screaming for help. The elderly, disabled resident who lived inside the unit had not had time to call 911 for help before Goldsberry arrived.

"I immediately took action, got her out of there first, and then, went back in to make sure nobody was inside the unit," described Goldsberry. "I basically took her arm around my shoulder and kind of picked her up to get her outside of the house."

"When I opened the door, nothing but smoke came out. There was a whole fireball. I just closed the door and got out of there. I really don't consider myself a hero,  I'm just doing my job as a DHA employee and just as a human. When it's time to take action, I really don't think - I do," Goldsberry added.

His N95 mask -worn for COVID protection - helped Karuan breathe while inside the apartment.

Goldsberry joined DHA in July 2021. Goldsberry shared that, when younger, he thought about becoming a volunteer firefighter, but he's happy with his current DHA maintenance position.