Travis Levitsky received a special commendation for bravery and heroism from Mayor Gerald Aalbers on Monday. Taylor Weaver Photo
Whether he’s prizefighting on ice while raising money for local youth sports or running into a burning building to save complete strangers, Travis Levitsky is the hero the Border City didn’t know it had.
On Oct. 30 at approximately 4 a.m., a fire broke out in several houses in the 4600 block of 20 St. in Lloydminster. Having seen the fire from his backyard, and without any concern for his own personal safety, Levitsky sprung into action, potentially saving the lives of a number of people.
For his actions, Levitsky was honoured with a special commendation for bravery and heroism on Monday from Mayor Gerald Aalbers on behalf of council and the entire City of Lloydminster.
The events of that evening sound like something out of a movie, but in that moment, it was Levitsky’s scary reality.
“Without personal regard for his own safety, Mr. Levitsky went door to door, alerted residents of the threat to their safety and, in doing so, ensured they evacuated their homes and safely fled the danger. Mr. Levitsky went so far as to forcibly enter a residence to alert a family of the fire,” read the commendation.
“It was a later night and I decided to get in the hot tub,” said Levitsky. “Close to 4 a.m. I start to see a glowing in the backyards. Then I start to hear what sounded like pallets cracking and I thought a neighbour was having a fire. I looked again and there were 45-foot flames over my neighbour’s house.”
Levitsky arrived at the first of three houses and started banging on the door to alert residents inside to evacuate.
“I was ready to kick that door in but the guy opened up. They thought I was an intruder and didn’t want to open the door, and they didn’t even realize their house was on fire,” he said.
“I think there were five children in that house that I helped … their daughter was in the back room, and it was close. We got two more kids out of the basement, and the dog, and then I went to the next house.”
Residents of the second house were quick to open their front door, allowing Levitsky to move onto the third house.
“I noticed the house on the other side had all the lights off. It didn’t look like anyone was there. That house was also on fire, and that’s the house with the doorbell camera (video of me kicking in the door). The smoke was so bad; they’re still not allowed in their house because of smoke damage,” he said.
“(In the video) I put my bunny hug (hoodie) up and kind of fell backwards because I couldn’t breathe. If I didn’t get into that house on the second kick they probably would have found me on the step because I was starting to get fuzzy. I’m glad it only took me two kicks because there wouldn’t have been a third kick out of me.”
So, what was Levitsky thinking while risking his own life to save others?
“The only thing that went through my mind was ‘it’s almost four in the morning, these people are sleeping and they have no idea what’s going on,’ and all I thought about was ‘what if this was my family or friends in that house?’ That was the only thing going through my mind is these people need help.”
Mayor Aalbers applauded Levitsky’s bravery stating it’s not something everyone would do.
“Mr. Levitsky’s actions speak to his commitment to the community and to his fellow people. Kicking in the door of a house to wake somebody up because their house is burning, a lot of people would just say ‘no, that’s why there’s a fire department, they’ll do that,’” he said.
“He went above and beyond and those people are here today and able to be with us today (because of his actions).”
Fire Chief Leigh Sawicki stated the cause of the fire is still unknown and under investigation.
