Landscape supervisor turned hero: Man helps over 2 dozen people, pets escape apartment fire
They say not all heroes wear capes, and that is exactly the case with Cornelius Rainey. The people he helped save from a burning apartment complex in Hyde Park on Wednesday night agree.
The Landscape supervisor was visiting his family at Riverbank Apartments on Wednesday, June 4, when he quickly realized something was wrong.
'I looked to the left and see fire, flames shooting out the building,' said Rainey. 'That's when I went and helped everyone out of their apartment.'
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Around 4:45 pm Wednesday, JFRD responded to a fire at Riverbank apartments in Hyde Park.
JFRD said the fire originated in a bedroom inside one of the apartments. The fire quickly spread to the attic, and as a result of that, JFRD told me they told JEA to cut the power off for the entire building. The state fire marshal is currently investigating the cause of the fire.
Without hesitating, Rainey said he ran inside the burning building and began banging on residents' doors, telling them it was time to go.
'I was trying to kick people's doors in, burglary style, but it wasn't flying open,' said Rainey. 'And the doors that I didn't get opened, kicked in, it was people actually in those apartments, too.'
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Rainey tells me he helped get 15 people and 3 dogs out of the burning building, including an elderly woman in a wheelchair.
'I was knocking on their door. It wouldn't open; I opened the door. She was sitting in the living room. Her husband was trying to get her out. And I just grabbed him. I said 'Move, man. I got her, I got her,' said Rainey. 'I grabbed her and rolled her out. And that's how she got out there.'
I asked Rainey why he decided to run into that building. He said it was instinct.
'I just care about people. I was just helping everybody. I couldn't leave them in there. The building was shooting fire, like real big flames,' said Rainey.
Rainey told me everyone he helped was extremely grateful to him, and he was just happy that everyone was safe. The Red Cross said it assisted a total of 34 individuals displaced by this fire. In addition, there are also other people displaced.
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'I had never been in a place with a fire before,' said Riverbank apartment resident Ekira Jackson.
Jackson was on her way back home from work on Wednesday when she got a call telling her apartment building was on fire and she needed to evacuate.
'When I walked up, I just see this black apartment complex,' said Jackson. 'I just moved in literally I haven't been here for not even a month yet. And everything I work hard for is ruined.'
I spoke with Riverbank Apartment's Property Manager about what they are doing to help residents during this time.
They told me everyone who was impacted by the fire can access their units, but they need to obtain an access pass through the city, which they have available if residents contact them.
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