STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We have evidence today that sports fans in Philadelphia are serious about their teams. Around 2 o'clock in the morning on Monday, a fire broke out in a West Philadelphia apartment. And an Eagles fan, Hakim Laws, was walking nearby.
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HAKIM LAWS: Smoke started getting worse. Then I seen a guy hanging out the window, you know, screaming that his kids was in there and things like that.
NOEL KING, HOST:
OK. We should mention that Mr. Laws used to be a firefighter, so he rushed into action. He ran into the burning building and tried to climb up the steps. But then smoke turned him back, so he ran back down. At that point, the fire department arrives on the scene. And here's what he told a news team afterward in a video that has gone viral.
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LAWS: The ladder truck was pulling up, and ironically then my - one of my old coworkers took the ladder off the truck, raised it up. And he was assisting people down. My man just started throwing babies out the window.
INSKEEP: And then Hakim Laws chose to use this moment to call out his team, specifically Eagles wide receiver Nelson Agholor. In the last two games, Agholor has dropped a few key passes. Laws, as you'll recall, was being thrown babies.
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LAWS: We was catching them, unlike Agholor and his mishaps. I'd like to put that out there.
KING: Someone on Twitter called that comment, the most Philly thing I've ever seen. Nelson Agholor, the Eagles receiver, was a pretty class act about it, though.
INSKEEP: Yeah. He's - he tweeted, thank you for being a hero in the community. Would like to invite you and your family to the next home game. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.