Day before Retirement, Firefighter Sees His House on Fire & Hears Baby Crying from Inside – Story of the Day

On his last day of work, a firefighter arrives at his house, only to see it engulfed in flames. But that's where things only start getting strange for him. He hears a baby crying inside his house and has no idea how the child ended up there.

Sam Wilson was a happy, single man. And that wasn't because his heart never fluttered for anyone or because ladies didn't see him worthy enough of their attention. Instead, it was because Sam had dedicated his life to what he loved the most -- his job as a firefighter.

Sam prided himself as a firefighter, and over the years, he received several accolades for his bravery and for saving people's lives. However, his time as a firefighter was almost over, and he was compelled to let go of the job he admired the most in his world.

Sam wasn't sure what he would do after retirement because his heart said he wanted to continue working in the fire department. But the rules stated otherwise and Sam had to retire.

When Sam's retirement day approached, he had a hard time believing it. He felt like his long and brilliant career seemed to have begun just yesterday and was now over. How could time fly by so fast?

As he sat in his office one last time on his last day at work, Sam couldn't help but think of all the memories he'd made. While the majority of them had been pleasant, several had been incredibly tragic, involving the loss of several lives.

Sam hoped that whoever took his place in the future would do their best and carry on his legacy. "I hope they live up to the expectations of his job...."

Suddenly, a call interrupted his thoughts.

Sam checked the caller ID and saw it was his sister, Amanda. They hadn't seen each other in three years after she moved to another state with her husband, and Sam was surprised by her call, to say the least. Amanda had come into Sam's life very late, and she was 18 years younger than him. After their parents died, he looked after her as if she were his own child. He missed her a lot.

"Sam! How have you been? Guess why I called?! I'M COMING TO MEET YOU!!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

"No way!" Sam almost rose in his seat from excitement. "Really? I mean,…."

"Yes, Sam! I'm flying out there today, and we'll finally meet after 3 years! AND I HAVE A HUGE SURPRISE FOR YOU!!" she said, chuckling.

"That's incredible, but," Sam paused, "I'm afraid I can't pick you up from the airport, Amanda. It's my last day at work, and they're organizing a farewell party for me. You know how much this job means to me... But my neighbor has a set of spare keys to my house. They keep one since I always misplace mine. Go directly there from the airport, and I'll be home soon, alright?"

"Works for me! Alright, then. See you at home, Sam! I can't wait for you to see the surprise!" she replied and hung up.

"Oh, don't worry, you're going to be okay!" Sam was about to leave, but then he stopped.

Sam thought it was good that Amanda was visiting him. He knew if he spent time around family, he wouldn't feel so terrible about his retirement...

That evening, Sam and his friends gathered for his farewell party, and they'd each bought him a heartfelt present.

"You didn't have to...." Sam accepted them with tears in his eyes. After that, they sliced the cake and raised a toast to him. "To the man who may grow tired but never retire!" they exclaimed as their glasses clinked.

Just then, the fire alarm went off, interrupting their celebration, and they were alerted of a fire in a nearby neighborhood.

All the firefighters got to their positions immediately. They were informed about the location over the intercom, and it froze Sam in place.

"That's where my house is!" he cried. "We need to hurry up!"

When they got to the location, Sam couldn't believe his eyes. His house was engulfed in flames, and the fire had already reached the front porch. "How did this even happen?" he mused.

Soon after, Sam and the other guys began using water pumps to put out the fire, and as Sam moved closer to the house, he heard a baby wailing from inside. "Neil," he said to his coworker. "Did you hear that? There's a baby inside! What is a baby doing in my house?"

"But don't you live alone? How would a baby end up inside?" Neil inquired as he continued to extinguish the fire.

Sam listened to his heart, telling him he needed to check inside the house. And without a second thought, he burst inside the burning house. "Sam, that could be dangerous! Be careful!" Neil shouted, but Sam wasn't listening.

Once inside, he realized the crying sound was coming from the living room. The smoke was getting into Sam's throat, and he was coughing profusely as he made his way in. And that's when he noticed something. There was a baby on the living room couch.

"Oh, don't worry, you're going to be okay!" he said as he scooped the child in his arms. And having rescued the little life, Sam was about to leave, but then he stopped.

He stopped because he saw another person in the room whose hand was protruding from behind the couch. He went behind the couch, and he couldn't believe it. It was Amanda!

"Jesus! Amanda, wake up!" He tried to stir her up, but she wouldn't wake up. Thankfully, Neil followed Sam into the house, and he helped him in getting Amanda and the child outside.

While the firefighters continued working on the fire, Sam rushed Amanda to the hospital with the help of the paramedics.

A few hours later, Amanda gained consciousness, and Sam was shocked to learn the baby he had saved was his nephew. "He is the surprise I wanted to show you, Sam," she said, faintly smiling as she lay on the hospital bed. "After so many fertility treatments and struggles to get pregnant, I finally conceived. Only I know how long I've been waiting to share this news with you...."

"My nephew?" Sam looked into the baby's innocent eyes staring at him and gently kissed him on his forehead. "Oh, I am glad I saved you! I am so glad…." he whispered and lovingly hugged him.

"Harry couldn't come because he had some business to attend to," Amanda continued. "But I wanted you to meet Adam. I'm sorry about the fire, Sam. It was my fault. Adam was crying, so I sang him a lullaby. Then I placed him on the couch….I was exhausted and decided to cook something as I hadn't eaten anything since morning, so I switched on the stove. Then I came to the living room to see if Adam was okay, and then it all went black. The next thing I know, I woke up in a hospital. I should have been more careful."

"You two are safe, and that's all that matters now, okay?" Sam said and hugged her. "Don't worry about anything else."

Since Sam's house was not in a state to live in, he and Amanda stayed over at Neil's place while his house was being repaired. And the workers who helped speed up the repairs were none other than Sam's friends.

Thanks to them, Sam returned home in just a week and finally spent time with his sister and nephew, whom he already loved so much.

What can we learn from this story?

• Our firefighters need to be appreciated and respected for the dangers they face daily to ensure our well-being. As soon as Sam got suspicious that a baby was inside the house, he dashed inside to the child's rescue without giving it a second thought. That's how brave our country's firefighters are, and they deserve to be respected for that.
• Be cautious while dealing with fire. Due to Amanda's carelessness, both she and Adam could have landed in trouble. She should have been more careful.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about firefighters who care for an elderly lady for 27 years after her daughter kicks her out.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.