The Knoxville Fire Department is calling a local man a hero after he saved his neighbor from a fire.
It happened at a duplex in the 1800 block of Washington Avenue in North Knoxville around 9 p.m Wednesday.
Chris Jones was home earlier than usual Wednesday night when he said he heard a smoke alarm.
"So I went outside and seen fire through my neighbor's window," Jones said.
Jones said his neighbor is elderly and uses a wheelchair. He said his sister called 911. Jones said he knocked on the door and called out her name, but the door wouldn't open.
"So I knocked the door in and I see a bunch of smoke, and I heard a voice so I went in there and got her out," Jones said.
Jones said through thick smoke he wheeled her to the door and helped her down the steps to safety. He said his sister also pulled a young boy from the duplex.
"I just had an adrenaline rush. I was scared, though," Jones said.
The Knoxville Fire Department arrived and quickly put out what it calls a small fire, which burned through the wood floor in the living room.
"When we got there, they found everybody already outside safely," Knoxville Fire Capt. D.J. Corcoran said.
Corcoran said the fire started as the elderly woman was burning old checks. He said there was minimal damage, but it was on its way to becoming a larger fire.
Corcoran said no one was hurt. Jones went to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but said he was ok Thursday afternoon.
Corcoran recommends against people going into a fir to try to save someone.
"It's best just to wait for the firefighters to get there," Corcoran said. "We're going to be there within a short period of time. But he did. And like I said, kudos to him. And he was truly the hero of the night."
But Jones doesn't think his actions are extraordinary. He's just thankful for good timing.
"I just feel like it's something the average person would have done in that situation," Jones said.
The neighbor Jones saved was not at her residence as of Thursday afternoon, and Jones said he did not know if she would continue to live there.