Maybe we shouldn’t complain when a garbage truck wakes us up in the wee hours of the morning. A Maryland family has an early-morning recycling run to thank for their safety after the driver noticed smoke coming from the roof. He stopped to wake the family up, pounding on doors and windows to alert them to the fire and get them out of the house.

The driver and other members of their crew don’t seem to think that they did anything special: they happened to be driving by and saw the smoke, but went to some lengths to save the family. “We screamed as loud as we could and ran around front cause we weren’t getting no response,” the driver explained to CBS Baltimore. The entire second floor of the house was engulfed in flames, and the trash and recycling crew also prevented the family from going back inside.

He received a hero pin from the county executive at a special awards ceremony where the family (and their dog) thanked him again.

Trash Truck Driver Honored For Saving Catonsville Family From Burning Home [CBS Baltimore]

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