Letter Carrier Luz Vasquez was delivering mail in Chicago recently when she saw smoke coming out of an upper window of an apartment building.
The Postal Service employee went into the building and began ringing doorbells and knocking on doors to alert the residents.
A neighbor called the fire department while Vasquez assisted a family by carrying two small children out of the building.
Before she could reenter the structure, she heard an explosion that shattered windows and sent flames shooting from the building, according to news reports.
The blaze killed a 19-year-old woman and injured a 45-year-old man. The cause of the fire has not been released.
Employees featured in “Heroes” receive letters of commendation through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program. The nomination form is available on Blue.
