Man Reunites with Firefighter Who Saved Him and His Sister 45 Years Ago: 'We Wouldn't Be Here'

"What you did, in turn, saved other people’s lives and brought more into the world," Umar Fox told his rescuer, retired Boston firefighter Joseph Gilmore

Umar Fox has lived a full life thanks to Joseph Gilmore, a retired Boston firefighter who rescued him and his sister from a blaze 45 years ago.

Just 3 years old at the time of his rescue in 1978, Umar has always wanted to meet the man who saved his life, according to The Boston Globe.

Now, four decades later, he was finally able to track down the former firefighter using social media — and the pair had an emotional reunion at a local community hall.

Upon seeing his rescuee, Gilmore joked, “Little Umar isn’t so little anymore," per The Boston Globe.

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Gilmore, a Boston firefighter for 38 years, also told Umar that he “wouldn’t want to pick you up now, buddy,” before the pair embraced, footage captured by Boston ABC affiliate WCVB showed.

At the long-awaited get-together, which was also attended by Umar’s mom, Silvia Fox, and George Rizer — who photographed the rescue for The Boston Globe — Umar told WCVB, “This guy saved our lives.”

“We wouldn't be here. I have wonderful children,” added Umar, who is now a father of three and stepfather of two.

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Of his sister Lisa, who was unable to attend the reunion due to an illness, he said, "My sister has great kids. They're all grown up and doing big things right now.”

Umar, now a school bus driver, told Gilmore, “What you did, in turn, saved other people’s lives and brought more into the world.”

According to The Boston Globe, these lives include not only Umar and Lisa’s children, but also a kid Umar rescued from drowning as a teen and two people he talked out of suicide while working as a recovery coach.

Silvia also thanked the retired firefighter for saving her son and daughter, telling Gilmore, “You didn’t just do your job. You did it well.”

And while Gilmore does remember the Dec. 26, 1978, fire — which occurred at the Fox family’s Dorchester, Massachusetts, home while the kids were on holiday break and Silvia, a single mother, was at work — he said it didn’t seem particularly noteworthy at the time, The Boston Globe reported.

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After carrying the siblings down the home’s front steps to an ambulance, as seen in Rizer’s photo, Gilmore went back inside and continued fighting the fire, he told the newspaper.

Rizer, who brought copies of his photograph for both families, said the black-and-white shot was one of hundreds of photos of fires and other rescues he captured during his decades-long career, per The Boston Globe.

But he's grateful that this one blossomed into a beautiful story.

“The worst thing you can hear on the police scanner or fire scanner on the way to any event is, ‘children trapped,’” Rizer told the newspaper after the reunion. “You don’t want to hear that, but if you get there, you want to [see] them, God willing, be rescued like this.”

“We go to bad stuff looking for happy endings, hopefully,” he added.

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