An off-duty Allied Universal security guard, Phillip Blanks, caught a three-year-old child who was dropped from a burning apartment in Phoenix last week.

As smoke and flames engulfed the apartment, Blanks saw what was happening and ran towards the building.

“I’d seen the building was on fire and my instinct kicked in immediately,” said Blanks. “With no hesitation, I just ran to the baby and caught him.

Cellphone video shows Blanks running toward the building, where the third story apartment was engulfed. A woman believed to be the child’s mother desperately dropped him off the third-floor balcony. Blanks, in the red shirt, jumped into action as the woman dropped the child off the third-floor balcony.

Blanks, who served in the military, has been working for Allied Universal for more than three months.  Allied Universal^®, a leading security and facility services company with 235,000 employees and revenues over $8.5 billion, provides unparalleled security services and technology solutions.

Police say officers carried the children, an 8-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, to fire rescue units and then they transported both children to a nearby hospital in serious condition. They both suffered serious burns, but they will recover. Sadly, the children’s mother did not make it.

“I can definitely give credit to the Marine Corps for instilling this good training in me to save a life,” he said. “I don’t see myself as a hero—just doing my job.”