PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – At just 18 years old, Jah’ere Robinson became a hero in the same Palm Beach County neighborhood where a stray bullet injured him as he took out the garbage.
Jah’ere spent six months in the hospital and months recovering. Two years after surviving the shooting, a neighbor credited him for acting quickly during an apartment building fire.
Jah’ere grabbed a fire extinguisher, stepped inside through the smoke, and he remained calm.
“I see the fire from the stove to the roof and it caught the cabinet. It caught the roof and it was almost to the attic,” Jah’ere told the ABC News affiliate in Palm Beach. “I’m trying to breathe and see at the same time and just happened to put it out.”
John Curd, the city’s fire chief, and Keith Golden, the city’s assistant fire chief, both agreed his decision to take action in August deserved recognition, and when they learned he is an aspiring firefighter knowing what to do next was easy.
When Jah’ere graduates from Riviera Beach Preparatory and Achievement Academy, Golden said, he will have the Riviera Beach Fire Department on his side to make sure he completes the program at Palm Beach State College.
“We will follow him all the way through the program until he actually gets hired,” Golden said.
Jah’ere was watching out for his community and now his community is watching out for him.