77-Year-Old Neighbor Saves Woman From Fire

Manuel Andrade knew something was wrong Wednesday morning when he noticed that his 87-year-old neighbor, Leon Benish, wasn’t on her front patio puffing on a cigarette.

He knocked on her door, smelled smoke and shouted for the frail Alzheimer’s patient to get out. She didn’t answer.

Andrade, 77, went in and pulled Benish to safety as flames climbed the wall of her home.

“I’m old, but I know how to take her out of the house,” Andrade said. “I just take care of her. I’m not a hero. I just do what I have to do.”

Neighbors have been keeping an eye on Benish since her husband died about a decade ago. Her routine is to start the day with a few cigarettes on the front porch.

Firefighters arrived at the house on North Wright Street about 8:48 a.m. They found a fallen cigarette and believe it caused the fire, which burned a wall and part of the attic, causing about $10,000 in damage.

Benish’s 46-year-old grandson, Tony Dunn, arrived soon after the fire started.

Dunn, who has known Andrade since childhood, said: “He’s just a neat guy. If it hadn’t been for him, the whole house would have gone down and Grandma with it.”