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Aspiring Health Aide Dies Days After Running Back Into Exploding Burning Building to Save Toddler

A courageous young man with dreams of being a health aide passed away after running into a burning building to save a toddler.

As ABC7 reports, Lucas Silverio, 19, woke up around 1 a.m. Sunday morning to find his building on fire. Silverio sprang into action and he and his cousin, Jerry Mendoza, carried their grandmother down 14 flights of stairs out of the building

If that wasn’t enough, the teen raced back inside to save a 3-year-old girl he saw on the way down.

His second cousin Jesse Alvarez said:

“Lucas told Jeury, ‘bro take mamma downstairs, I’m gonna go back and get the little girl.’”

Although he was able to retrieve and bring the little girl to firefighters, they both suffered burns to over 80% of their bodies.

Further, Alvarez added:

“Upon retrieving the little girl there was an explosion that rendered him unconscious.”

Unfortunately, the little girl passed away the following day and  Silverio passed away on Wednesday. ABC7 reports that the good Samaritan was a college student studying to be a health aide. His desire to help others pushed him to his final act of kindness.

Detectives believe the fire may have started by someone throwing something combustible into the trash compactor. However, investigators are still working to confirm the exact cause of the blaze.