South Jersey Mayor Rescues Woman From House Fire [UPDATED]

A South Jersey mayor jumped into action to rescue a sleeping woman from a burning building this week.

Paulsboro Mayor Gary Stevenson happened upon the fire at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, while returning home from a funeral, the Courier Post reports.

Stevenson was a fire chief for 12 years and a member of the fire department since 1984. Stevenson was able to awake the sleeping woman by knocking on her front door, and helped her get out of the home, according to nj.com.

Several fire departments responded to the scene, and were able to extinguish the blaze. Officials believe the cause of the fire was electrical in nature.

No one else was home at the time of the fire, but a neighbor under hospice was taken to the firehouse while the situation was handled.

The woman was one of a family of six who lived in the house. The family includes a 1-year-old, according to gofundme account set up for the family.

"So far all we have is each other and that's what we are most grateful about. We are asking for our fellow friends and families to reach out to us and help," the Santiago family said in the post. "We are a family who always looked out for others when they most needed. Any amount is appreciated. Thank you and May god bless you."

As of Wednesday afternoon, the page had raised $570. The stated goal is $30,000, but the family said that is not a hard goal and any amount is appreciated.

Despite his actions, Stevenson told NBC 10 he shouldn't be considered a hero.

“I don’t consider myself a hero,” he told the news station. “I’m just a citizen with the title of mayor.”

He did praise the firefighters who extinguished the blaze, and posted photos on his Facebook page.