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A Russian who sought asylum in the US three years ago has drawn global praise for his rescue American flag from a burning house during a fire in California.
Sultan Ramazanov drove through forest fires in Changed with a friend on January 7, when he saw a house engulfed in flames.
He said he has never seen a wildfire and is worried about the town he now calls home.
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“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Ramazanov told Fox News Digital. “I have heard about the fires in California in 2020, but now it was my first time [being near a wildfire]and you know, it was really scary. When I saw how Palisade Fire moved through the mountains, I was really afraid for our city.”
Spotting the symbolic red-white-blue flag near Hell, he asked his friend to stop.
I told my friend, ‘let me at least save the flag,'” said Ramazanov. “I tried to get it, and it was a little difficult, it took a few minutes.”
Vehicles and homes burn as strong winds spread devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area, Jan. 8. (Reuters/David Swanson)
In the video, he can be seen reaching out through the thick, black smoke, carefully separating the shredded banner from the flagpole in front of the house.
The flag was visibly charred on one side, with one red stripe hanging towards the ground.
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Ramazanov is shown gloomily leaving the burning home, with the white stars on the flag gently folded and tucked in his hands.
After the rescue, a friend told him he had captured the heroic act on video, and Ramazanov decided to share it on Instagram in the hope of connecting with the home’s owners—returning what may be one of their only remaining possessions.
Sultan Ramazanov carries an American flag that he took down from a flagpole in front of a burning house in Altadena, California, during a fire. (News)
“I just posted it and some guy shared it and said, ‘Look at this, Jason Statham lookalike saved the American flag’ and it went viral,” he said. “It had 10 million views and it really helped me find the family that owns the flag. I am very grateful to the people who shared the video.”
As of Wednesday evening, the post had more than 270,000 likes and nearly 30,000 shares on the platform.
While Ramazanov got several fraudulent calls of people claiming to be the owners of the house, he finally connected with its owner, a 74-year-old man.
A destroyed store after a fire at Eaton’s Tuesday in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
He told Ramazanov that he was very grateful and said he was worried about the flag.
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The pair plan to meet over the weekend to go back and learn each other’s stories.
“It is the flag of our country, so I decided to preserve it,” said Ramazanov. “The United States has given us a lot and I am very grateful to this country. It’s over [have] my documents here, and I got asylum here. Now the American flag is also a symbol for me and my family.”
