Homeless man repays family who took him in by saving them from a fire

A homeless Houston man has repaid the family who offered him shelter, after helping them escape a house fire in the early hours of the morning.

Thomas Smith was staying with a 66-year-old friend and her granddaughters – aged 10 and eight – at their home in the city’s south-east when he was awoken at around 1.30am on January 15 by the sound of an explosion.

Mr Smith was led by a smoke trail to the homeowner’s bedroom, where he found her crushed by a slab of sheetrock that had fallen from the ceiling.

Noticing that a fire had broken out in the attic, Mr Smith scrambled to free his friend, before leading her to another bedroom where her granddaughters were sleeping.

He then led the family through the smoke and out of the blaze.

Firefighters subsequently managed to put out the fire, but not before the home had received extensive damage.

They believe the blaze may have been electrical in origin.

Mr Smith, who has been praised for his actions, was only grateful no one was harmed.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a hero,” he told local TV station KHOU.

“I just thank God for helping us all. Not a hero.”