SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – In the fall of 2023, Warren Staves witnessed a life-changing event during a 3:00 a.m. drive. He saw a man shouting for help and sprang into action.
“So I stopped, I pulled over, and, he is yelling fire! Fire! I see the lady up on the second floor screaming, help! Help! And I looked at him. I’m like, go get her and he he was like, questioning himself. Like what? So I, I ran around the corner,” Staves said.
In a heroic act, Staves risked his life to save a stranger.
“The door was closed, so I hit it with my shoulder and I had to hit it a couple of times. There’s a water pipe that goes across the top and it came down and just knocked me in the mouth and knocked all my teeth out, and I was pretty bloody,” he said.
Despite the injuries, Staves managed to save the woman before losing consciousness.
“Like, two stairs left, and I threw her. I said run because I couldn’t move anymore,” Staves said.
He recalls the aftermath vividly.
“I was bad. Smoke in my lungs, I couldn’t breathe. They were peeling the skin off my hand and on my back. I was screaming, crying,” he said.
When Staves regained consciousness, he was greeted with praise.
“The firemen come in and talk to me, and they they’re like, man, we’re proud of you,” he said.
This pride led to a formal award, but it did not solve all his problems.
“I walked out of the hospital with nothing. I walked out going, what am I going to do? I took the bus out here. They gave me a bus pass to get out here and my truck’s gone,” Staves said.
Seeking help, Staves contacted Union Gospel Mission Motors in hopes of securing a free vehicle.
“They didn’t tell me who to talk to. They didn’t say. They just said, we don’t, we don’t do that,” he said.
I visited UGM Motors, and they explained that about a decade ago, they made changes to their vehicle program due to some recipients re-selling the vehicles.
Their inventory is donated, and they receive no government funding. All proceeds go towards their shelters.
There is still a chance for Staves to obtain a vehicle, but he will need to apply and complete a program, which takes time.
Despite the challenges, Staves remains proud of his decision from the fall of 2023.
“I would do it again. I mean, even if I lost everything, I mean, it’s a person’s life, you know?” he said.
