School Bus Driver Sees Smoke, Rescues Students' Dogs

School was closed due to subzero temperatures on Jan. 22 in Jackson Township, Ohio, but school bus driver Todd Morris was nonetheless on the job. As he drove home from an errand, he noticed smoke—which, he tells the Washington Post, he could tell was "not normal chimney smoke"—rising in the air. He followed it, and found it was coming from the home of two of the elementary school students who ride his bus route. Knowing they were off from school that day, he worried they might be inside the house, News 5 Cleveland reports. The 54-year-old, a retired police officer and Army veteran, ran to the door while calling 911. When no one answered, he kicked the door in.

He went through the smoke-filled home calling out to see if anyone needed help, and while no people were inside, two animals were—the family dogs, Lady and Cash. Morris got them out safely, then went back in one final time to make sure no one else was there. He got out just as the fire department arrived. "I was instantly panicked because I knew the dogs were there," says the homeowner, whose kids were spending their day off school with their grandmother. Of Morris, he says, "He was willing to risk his own life to go in there. It just blows my mind that somebody would do that." A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for the family. (More house fire stories.)