Truck drivers see plenty of danger in their daily routes, from dealing with the perils of rush hour traffic to avoiding drivers distracted by their smartphones. But dashing into a burning house to save people and their pets goes a step beyond the typical job description.

Wade Cline, a driver with the Tualatin, Ore.-based Reddaway trucking company, recently confronted that challenge during a delivery to a residence in Auburn, Wash. As he neared his destination, Wade saw a utility pole topple over, sending a live power line into a row of bushes in front of a nearby house, according to the company's newsletter.

Seeing the bushes and the house quickly catch fire, Cline pulled his truck to the curb, knocked on the front door, and escorted a woman and her infant son to safety. As they waited for the fire squad to arrive, Cline entered the burning building two more times, retrieving the family dog and then the keys to their car.

A local police officer commended his courage, but Wade said that it simply felt like the right thing to do. "I believe that you should treat people the way you want to be treated," said Wade, a 10-year Army veteran. "I live my life by that rule. I would want someone to do the same if it were my family."