Man Risks Burning Alive To Save Beer

A lot of people have a vague awareness of the possessions they would rescue first in the case of a fire. Usually it's pets and people, followed by the most valuable things in their homes. A computer or a photo album might be high on a person's list. A few cans of Bud Light are not normally a high priority, but that's what one man risked his life to save this week in Georgia.

Six adults and two children were watching TV in Columbus, Ga., when the house started filling with smoke. The adults grabbed the children and ran to safety, when suddenly Walter Serpit, who walks with a cane, decided to run back into the burning building to rescue his beer.

"I told them to get the kids out and everything, and me myself, being an alcoholic, I was trying to get my beer out," he said to ABC News. "I went back into the house like a dummy. The door shut on me because of this back draft. It was about to kill me."

Serpit actually managed to rescue a few cans of beer without getting burned. Nobody was injured, and firefighters arrived and were able to put out the blaze. A newly installed water heater is considered the likely cause of the blaze that engulfed the building. The Red Cross arrived shortly after the fire was out and said it was working to help the family get back on its feet after the fire.