WHITE CASTLE - On a normal mid-morning mail route down Adams Drive, Dominic Jack noticed smoke billowing up from a home. The letter carrier became a hero that day and was honored on a national scale last week.

On Jan. 14, 2023, Jack thought he first heard a transformer blow. His eyes then caught the gaze of gray smoke, followed by a young boy standing near the side of the house. Behind him popped out a teenage girl with a baby and another young boy.

After this, Jack called 911. The mailman helped the children to the edge of the street away from the flames, but there was still one more person inside.

"The grandmother lived in the home," Jack said, recalling the fast-paced realizations of the day.

Jack ran into the home and found the grandmother at the back of the house and brought her to safety with her four grandchildren. From afar, the six of them watched the home become engulfed in flames.

"That was just a courageous act," White Castle Chief of Police Harold Brooks said. "I know he wouldn't, don't wanna be called a 'hero,' but in some people eyes, that's what he is."

Brooks stepped into his role right after Jack's heroic efforts, recalling when he first found out about the letter carrier who saved a family.

When Jack first saw the smoke, he noticed that there was no chimney on the home, which raised concerns. Jack now urges his nearly 300,000 peers across the country to be more observant and vigilant when on their daily mail routes.

"Be more vigilant of what's going on within where you deliver mail," Jack urged. "Because one day, you may be delivering mail; one day, you may be going into a burning house."

Last week, Jack was honored in Washington D.C. by the National Association of Letter Carriers for his display of heroism.

As he walked to the stage, a whole room applauded his efforts as he received the Letter Carrier of the Year Award — an award given to eight letter carriers across the country. Jack was selected and honored as the nominee for the central region of the United States.

"(To) be honored in D.C. with the Post Office and also our local union, well, national union, I don't have feelings about it," Jack said. "It was just a normal day for me."

As Jack walks his same mail route every day after being on the job for almost three years, he said he is recognized by neighbors in the community. He's not just looked up to on Adams Drive, he is trusted because of his example of courage and selflessness.

What keeps Jack going each day is the community he gets to serve and the role he gets to now play as a hero.

"(I) never thought that, you know, a whole entire community would trust me," Jack said, somewhat in awe. "I was just delivering the mail."