Hero of the Week: Man Runs Back Into a Burning Building to Rescue BBQ Ribs

It's often worth thinking about what's really important in this life. Family, loved ones, love, laughter, barbecued ribs...

Yes, that latter item was clearly high up on the list for Los Angeles resident Robert Wright, who ran back into a burning apartment to rescue his rack of ribs that he'd been cooking when a fire broke out in his residential complex.

“First thing, I got my kids, and I thought about my ribs. Like, I didn’t want my ribs to burn and stuff because I take pride in what I do, man,” Wright told KMPH News in an impassioned interview as he held his prized ribs in his hand like the spoils of war.

“It’s like three o’clock in the morning; I was hungry, man. Put the ribs on there, man, some hot links and stuff. We got it going and stuff, but I looked over, the fire was bursting out. Like, man, this is crazy, man. It was frantic.”

Before you ask - Wright was entirely blameless in starting the fire. Fire Department spokesman Pete Martinez said: “From what we could tell, the rib guy had no responsibility in the fire. He just happened to be cooking ribs at the time, which is phenomenal.”

Wright, his family, their neighbours and his ribs all escaped without damage - and Martinez was quick to add: “Nothing is worth losing your life over. No matter how delicious those ribs are, you can make ‘em again.”