A former volunteer firefighter helped a man escape his burning Butler home Wednesday night.

Tom Martin, 49, of Summit, said he was on his way home from work at his funeral home shortly before 10 p.m. when he saw smoke coming from a duplex on Fairview Avenue in Butler.

Martin said he pounded on the door of one half of the duplex. When the resident inside came to the door, Martin told him the building was on fire. The resident escaped unharmed. Others who lived in the other half of the duplex weren’t home at the time, Martin said.

Martin had been a member of the Herman volunteer fire department for about 25 years, including 15 years as chief, but stopped several years ago because of family commitments.

“Everybody’s making a big deal about this, but it’s not a big deal to me,” Martin said Thursday. “I’m glad I was there, but lots of guys run into burning buildings every day.”

State police fire marshal David Jungling said the fire remains under investigation. The American Red Cross was helping several fire victims.

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