It started off like a typical cab ride for Terry Jansen.

On June 27, 2012, the Toronto actor and producer was heading home in the early morning hours from a film shoot. But while passing by a storefront near Queen St. West and Bathurst St., he noticed it was up in flames.

“It takes you half a second to realize there’s no fireman, there’s no police, there’s no ambulance,” he recalled. “We’re the first ones here, and it’s 4 o’clock in the morning.”

At first, Jansen also didn’t know there were three apartments in the building, including one without a working fire alarm.

The 36-year-old said he left the cab, kicked in the door leading to the apartments, and began shouting and knocking on doors to wake people up, something several residents later said may have saved their lives.

On Thursday, Jansen was honoured for his bravery as one of the 32 people who won Citizen Awards from the Toronto Paramedic Services Awards.

“It’s when our staff arrive and they see something exceptional,” said Paul Raftis, chief of Toronto Paramedic Services.

Residents of all three apartments – and their pets, including two chinchillas – got out safely from the building. Media reports at the time said arson was the suspected cause of the fire.

Iryna Dutko, 27, who lived in one of the apartment units, told the Star she and her roommates had just moved in about a week before the fire, and their fire alarm wasn’t installed yet.

She recalled Jansen pounding on their door and screaming about the fire. “I don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t been there,” she said.

One of Dutko’s two roommates, Jessica Harvey, 29, remembers meeting Jansen, and said they’re all grateful for his help.

“He was definitely the guy banging on our door, and shuffled us out, saying ‘Go, go, go,’” she recalled.

“I think in all the commotion we were too freaked out and didn’t get (his) contact info to thank him,” said Dutko. “I always felt bad about that.”

After learning that Jansen was winning an award, both women said they were happy to hear he was being honoured for helping them three years ago.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The Star passed along their gratitude to Jansen at Thursday’s award ceremony, and he was thankful for it.

“But I am humbled, just humbled, to see the EMS and the paramedics here. I thought I did something cool for one night, but these guys do it every day,” he added.