Tim Martin had braved rain and heat and the gloom of night on his appointed rounds, delivering mail in Hamburg for years.
But on New Year’s Eve in 2022, he braved smoke and fire.
That fact brought Martin to the nation’s capital last week for a ceremony where the National Association of Letter Carriers named him Eastern Region Letter Carrier Hero of the Year.
And to hear Karen Karan tell it, he deserved the honor.
“He kind of, I’ll say, saved my life,” said Karan, 73. “He’s just a really nice, super guy.”
Given what happened that New Year’s Eve, it’s also safe to say he’s a brave one.
Martin said he was doing his rounds in Hamburg as usual that afternoon until he approached Karan’s home.
“I came around the corner and there was this car and it was just fully engulfed in flames already” – and right in front of Karan’s home.
A friend of Karan’s had just dropped off some groceries for her, and when he turned the ignition in his car in her driveway, it burst into flames. The man managed to escape, but his car was doomed. And at first, Martin said, it looked as if Karan’s home would be, too.
“There was a neighbor rushing over with a shovel and they were trying to shovel snow on to the car to get the fire out, but at that point, it was gonna take a lot more than that,” he said. “Plus, within a minute, the fire went from engulfed to raging. Things were popping, glass was exploding. It got dangerous. It was melting the siding of the house and catching that house on fire.”
Inside, Karan called 911, only to be met with confusion.
“The 911…
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