A former college football wide receiver is now a hero after making the reception of his life, catching a young boy dropped from a burning building in Phoenix. Phillip Blanks, a 28-year-old retired U.S. Marine from Kalamazoo, Michigan, sprung into action to save the life of a toddler who was trapped in the third story of an apartment building that was engulfed in flames. Rachel Long, the mother of the child, did not survive the fire but was able to get her child over the railing of the balcony. As the child was falling to the ground Blanks sprinted over and made a diving catch to prevent the boy from hitting the ground, perhaps saving the boy’s life.
… Later, it was discovered that the boy’s eight-year-old sister had also been saved from the fire by another hero. D’Artagnan Alexander, a 42-year-old barber, heard that there was another child inside the building after the boy had been rescued and went to the third floor looking. There he found the girl on the floor and carried her outside.