Saskatoon man’s heroic actions recognized by city

Evan Pyra doesn’t consider himself a hero, but his actions in the midst of a fire are being called heroic.

“I don’t exactly feel like I deserve all of this, but it’s a neat experience,” he said.

Pyra received the Award of Merit from the city during a ceremony at Fire Hall No. 1 on Friday.

On Tuesday, Pyra had just returned home from a night shift when he smelled something strange in the hallway. He went out to his car to retrieve his cell phone charger when he noticed smoke billowing out of the Fourth Street East home.

The 26-year-old — who lives in a basement suite — alerted his neighbour living upstairs to the fire.

“She was just panicked and kind of frozen, and talking about going back in to get some more of her stuff,” Pyra said. “I told her it’s not worth it. It’s just stuff.”

Fire Chief Morgan Hackl said it could have been a deadly outcome had Pyra not done what he did.

“His quick thinking and his calm demeanour allowed him to react in a situation that was moving very quickly,” Hackl said.

Pyra credits his training as a nurse for being able to handle emergencies.

“In the moment, it was kind of everything went blank,” he said. “It was one thing, do the next, do the next.”

The fire was deemed accidental, caused by a candle left unattended in a main-floor bathroom.