God's Perfect Timing

From the Archives: 2010

Written by Jason Norman

I live in North Wilkesboro but work for Scott Brothers Heating and Cooling in Ashe County. We report for work every day at 8 a.m., and I’m the kind of guy who always gets there right at 8, but never early.

However, on the morning of October 26, 2009, I woke up earlier than usual, and I felt led to leave my house 20 minutes earlier than usual.

A Strange Sight

As I was driving down the road, I saw a house that had smoke pouring out of it. When I stopped my car, I saw a woman who was holding a baby and crying hysterically. She told me her parents were still inside and that her mother was in a hospital bed, unable to walk. I asked her exactly where they were in the house, then ran up the handicap ramp and kicked in the door.

Jason Norman

The smoke and heat were so intense it drove me back. I thought that maybe, just maybe, she had made it out, so I went and asked the daughter again if she was sure that her parents were still in there. When she said that she was sure I knew that I had to go back in there. I pulled my coat over my head and went back in. I dropped to the floor and felt around for the bed because I couldn’t see anything due to the smoke.

Right On Time

I pulled the mom (Linda Call) out of the room and through the front door just as something inside exploded. I got her across the street, but I knew the man was still inside. I felt there was no way he could have survived that explosion, and I knew there was no way I could get back in the house. Tears filled my eyes as I stood there feeling helpless.

All of a sudden, I heard someone shouting that they saw a man at the window. I ran over to the window with another man and we quickly pulled the man (William Call) out of the window. Very soon after we got him out of the window the fire engines arrived.

I called work and told them I was running late, but then I started to cough really hard and felt like I couldn’t breathe without a lot of pain. I ended up having to go to the emergency room, where I was treated for smoke inhalation.

Helping Others Like Christ Helped Us

My boss told me to stay out of work, but I needed to give them some tools for my job. Mike Carter is the Installation Manager at the company, but he is also my pastor. He baptized me and my wife that summer. When we met, we prayed together for the people in the fire and for my health as well.

I can’t tell you how much that meant to me as we considered how God had me at the right place at the right time to help someone, just like Christ has helped us.

The day after the fire I peeled off the melted vinyl that had dripped from the house onto my work jacket and went back to work. When I think about that day, I don’t think of it as being something major. I stopped and did what I should have done. It wasn’t about anything else at that point. I knew that it could have been my girls, my wife or my family in there, and I would have wanted someone to do that for me.