Plumbers are ‘lifesavers’ as they are the first one we think of in an emergency situation at home.
One apprentice plumber in Brooklyn successfully helped take down a man standing on the Brooklyn Bridge and is being hailed a hero for that.
Joseph “Joey” Hansen was riding home with a friend after work when he saw a person balancing on a bridge beam during a snowstorm. He says, “My first instinct was, ‘Oh my God, this person doesn’t belong up there.” The 29-year-old apprentice said, “This man was going to take his life and I knew that I had to step up and do something.”
“Walk back!” he yelled out the window. “It’s not worth your life!” He started shouting, ‘Walk back, bro! It’s not worth it! You can change anything in your life!’ and I kept repeating it,” he said. “I tried to give him some inspiration, to reach out to him as a friend.”
Hansen said he was the only one who saw the man and decided to do something about it, because others passed by but didn’t make any attempt to save the man.
“There was some drivers but they were just looking, looking and driving away, looking and driving away,” Hansen said. “He was staring straight out into the water. I made sure, I made it a point that his life is worth more than whatever his problems are.”
“And he looked at me, so that’s how I knew he was listening to me,” he added. “And it looked to me like he was crying. He turned around and just walked right off.” He added, “I was so happy and relieved that he made the decision not to do it.”
There were cops there as well who tried convincing the man to back down and the authorities later said that a civilian helped their efforts and that the unnamed 24-year-old on the beam was emotionally disturbed.
Watch: Plumber stops suicidal man from jumping off Brooklyn Bridge
Hansen was recognized by The UA Local Union No. 1 The Plumbers of New York City and congratulated him with a post that shared the story and named the heroic plumber.
“Joseph Hansen (Local 1 Apprentice) was at the right place at the right time and was able to convince a man to walk safely down from the top of the Brooklyn Bridge,” they wrote.
Hansen is using all this publicity to encourage people to be bold and help others when they see an opportunity. “It was a cry out for help,” he said. “I just hope that he gets the help he needs and goes on to be happy with himself.”
Hansen added, “If everyone put out just a hand to help, people will grab it. They want help.”
That’s such a remarkable story of how Hansen stepped in to help the suicidal man without caring about the others who were not even bothered to stop and check out what was happening. We don’t need to wait for someone else to do the job, we can very well listen to the cry of help from people and respond in love to them and save their lives.