A Hamilton teen says the accolades he’s received since rushing into a burning tent to help a man who was trapped inside have overwhelmed him.
Zeke Fox, a 17-year-old high school student, was driving home from a friend’s house when he noticed some unusual smoke as he passed by Bayfront Park.
“There was a cloud of smoke that was kind of flowing over the road,” Fox explained. “What caught my eye is that the smoke was black, and I’m used to seeing smoke coming out of tents. But again, the smoke was black, which means that plastic was burning.”
Fox pulled his van over to the side of the road to figure out what was going on.
“And at that point, there was a couple pops and then the tent went up in flames. And it wasn’t slowly, It just all went up all at once,” he told Global News.
“I ran over to the tent and I heard a man crying for help, like screaming, ‘Help me!’”
After hearing the man’s cries, Fox called his parents, who were at their nearby home getting ready for bed.
“I said, ‘Dad, you have to call 911, there’s a tent that’s on fire. There’s someone inside. I don’t know if I can get to him, but I’m going to do what I can,’” Fox explained.
Next, he spoke to his mom, who implored him to step aside and let the authorities do their job.
“I said, ‘Mom, there’s someone inside, I can’t back up and just watch this happen. I need to help,’” Fox explained.
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The Cathedral High School student entered the burning tent to try and assist.
“This gentleman was caught up in a tarp that was preventing him from getting out by himself, so I managed to pull him out,” he explained, noting that he was back outside within seconds.
“Once I got him out of the tent, he was still badly burned, his clothes were still on fire, and I got him out of the tent and rolled him in the snow,” he said.
“That didn’t put out the fire on his clothes, so I found a cloth or something on the ground and I started beating out the fire.”
Fox said that several Hamilton police officers then reached the scene and took over for him.
“Zeke put himself in significant danger and proceeded to pull the male to safety saving his life,” Det. Greg Blunsdon told Global News in an email on Thursday.
Police said the man, who is in his 50s, was transported to hospital with burns to his body. He is currently intubated and in stable but still critical condition.
Police do not believe there to be anything suspicious connected to the fire and are not investigating.
Fox was treatment in hospital for smoke inhalation and released after a few hours, according to police.
“Once I was being treated for everything and had calmed down in my brain and had some time to stop and think, I was surprised myself that I reacted that quickly and was able to help the gentleman to the extent that I did,” he said.
The backyard of his parents’ home backs onto to the park and while his dad ran to his son, his mom watched the events unfold from her backyard.
“My mom was watching it happen from our backyard, and I can’t even imagine what was going through her head watching the fire grow in size and not knowing where I am at that point,” Fox offered.
“I’ve talked to my parents about it and they said I definitely did give them a good scare, but they’re extremely proud of me.”
Word has spread around Hamilton about the student’s heroics. Fox said that while he’s grateful for the attention, it has also been overwhelming.
“I was not expecting this kind of reaction from not just the school, but the community,” he said. “I go to Tim Hortons on my lunch break and staff want to take pictures with me.
“I’m like, never in my life would I ever expect that.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
