‘I would never let the flag go up in smoke!' Dramatic video shows Ohio fireman and ex-Navy sailor rescue American flag from burning home of Vietnam veteran

An Ohio firefighter was captured on film dramatically rescuing an American flag from a Veteran's home that had gone up in flames. 

Allen Skomer, a firefighter from Toledo, was helping his comrades battle a blaze that tore through the home of a Vietnam vet early Friday morning.

Skomer, himself a Navy veteran, noticed the flag while responding to the blaze on Junction Avenue in Toledo, WTOL-TV reported.

‘I was helping one of the rookies throw a stream in between those two structures, to keep that second structure from burning,’ Skomer said.

Allen Skomer, a firefighter from Toledo, was helping his comrades battle a blaze that tore through the home of a Vietnam veteran early Friday morning. He is seen saving an American flag from the burning home 

The fire completely destroyed the home, according to WTOL-TV

‘That's when I noticed the colors waving with the flames behind them.

‘I didn't want to let it burn, so I went and grabbed it.

‘I'm an eight-year veteran of the Navy. It's just a knee-jerk reaction. I didn't want to see the colors go up.

‘I would never knowingly let the flag go up in smoke or be desecrated in front of me if I can help it.’

The owner of the home which caught fire has not been identified, but a friend, Christy Depp, said the flag is important to him.

Skomer said: ‘I'm an eight-year veteran of the Navy. It's just a knee-jerk reaction. I didn't want to see the colors go up'

‘I didn't want to let it burn, so I went and grabbed it,' Skomer said

The owner of the home which caught fire has not been identified, but a friend, Christy Depp, said the flag is important to him

The fire erupted early Friday morning. Depp said that the homeowner, whose first name is Bob, is known in the community as a giving man

‘That was a brand-new flag,’ she said.

‘He took the old one down and took it back and they gave him a brand new one.’

Skomer said that moments after he removed the flag, the house caved in on itself.

‘I think shortly after ... the roof became fully involved and it collapsed on itself,’ Skomer said.

‘We were able to save the adjoining structure. So I believe the flag got put back in there so the owner can keep it.

‘Even though he lost his place, the colors he can keep.’

Depp said that the homeowner, whose first name is Bob, is known in the community as a giving man.

‘Bob's a good man to the community, to us. He's a veteran,’ she said.

‘A lot of the homeless that walk up and down the streets, he feeds them.

‘[He] cooks for them and everything and never turned nobody down, nobody down.

‘He did a lot for us.’

Sterling Rahe, a spokesperson for the Toledo Fire Department, praised Skomer’s actions.

‘Patriotism is something that I think is overlooked these days,’ Rahe said.

‘That flag is the core symbol of our citizenship and we should be thankful for the freedom and what that flag represents.

‘It’s a proud moment. Respect for the flag runs deep within our department.

‘It’s a great moment for Al to take be able to respect the flag and do what he did.