Postal worker saves Chamblee couple from house fire

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thank God it's Monday.

It's typically the busiest day of Ellenwood postman Donald Wortham's week.

"If it had been Tuesday, I probably would've already passed the house before the fire started," Wortham, 54, told the AJC.

Around noon Monday, Wortham noticed smoke coming from a house in the 3000 block of Janice Court in Chamblee. Upon closer inspection, he observed a fire spreading from a truck parked in the carport. He called 911.

"The operator told me to knock on the door to make sure no one was there," said Wortham, a 12-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service. He did, and after a few frantic knocks, a young couple emerged, oblivious that their residence was about to go up in flames.

The fire, likely started by an electric malfunction in the truck, overwhelmed the structure within minutes. The damage to the home was extensive, said Steve Ham, battalion chief for DeKalb County Fire and Rescue, but no one was injured.

"[Wortham] is definitely the hero here," Ham told the AJC.

Wortham disagrees.

"It's something anyone would've done," he said. "I'm just glad God put me at the right place at the right time."