A Postal Service employee who rescued a customer from a blaze at a senior community has been honored as a local hero by the American Red Cross and as the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Hero of the Year.
Joined by his wife, Leona, and daughter, Liliana, he was honored in two separate ceremonies for the March 28, 2025, act.
Chris Perez, a letter carrier in Yorktown Heights and a Carmel resident, was on his route when he spotted smoke coming from Jefferson Village — where he had already delivered mail. He drove back and found several people gathered, watching flames consume the building.
Perez, who knew many of the building’s older residents relied on canes and walkers, ran door to door, knocking to warn them of the fire and urging them to evacuate.
He then saw a man trapped on a second-floor balcony.
First responders were on the way, but the fire was spreading quickly around the disoriented resident. Perez tried to enter the unit through the front door to help him, but the heat was so intense it singed his beard.
In the days following his selfless act, he was honored across town and hailed a hero. A year later, his quick thinking and selflessness continue to earn praise. The choice to go back is one he is grateful he made, and he told Yorktown News that this situation specifically showed him that he has “an opportunity to actually help people in a major way.”
He, alongside his family said he’s “decided to join the American Red Cross.”
The American Red Cross event, held in Manhattan on March 18, honored Perez as the “Good Samaritan Hero.”
He told Yorktown News that the cohort of honorees is “an amazing group of people who do amazing things every day, and it is an honor to be part of that group now who strive every day to make a difference in this world.”
Perez called the recognitions “a wonderful blessing for my family and I.”
He hadn’t been to the nation’s capital since he was a young boy, and he said returning for the NALC Washington, D.C., event in late March “as a hero was an unforgettable experience.”
He said members of his union and peers “welcomed me with an open arms” and have shown him support throughout the last year.
“For that I will forever be grateful,” he said.
“I love that it is something that I can share with the community, knowing that there are other people out there who would do the same thing I did without hesitation.”
While that one day changed everything for him, he said it hopes it inspires others to look out for their community.
“It means the world to me and I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to be recognized,” Perez said. “I hope that sharing my story will encourage other people to do the right thing and go with their gut instinct.”
He said his invitations to the American Red Cross to be honored as a local hero, and then to Washington, D.C., as a national hero, have been what he called “a roller coaster ride” for him and his family.
“It is a wonderful feeling to be known as a hero publicly but more importantly to my family,” he said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here