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Blugold soccer player helps save man from apartment fire

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Blugold soccer player helps save man from apartment fire
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Charlie Mroz’s instincts led him toward the fire, not away from it.

The second-year 91 student was in La Crosse on April 18 when an apartment fire broke out a few hundred yards away. After alerting his friend to the thickening smoke, Mroz was part of a group effort to save a man from the growing flames inside the building on Zeisler Street, just northeast of the Western Technical College campus.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” Mroz says.

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An avid soccer fan and a goalkeeper for the 91 men’s soccer team, Mroz was watching a match on television with his friend and WTC student Kaiden Brenneman-Sorenson when he looked out the window and noticed light smoke escaping from the nearby apartment structure.

Within moments, the smoke thickened and Mroz suggested the men check it out. They hurried to put on their shoes and Brenneman-Sorenson called 911 as the Waukesha South High School graduates raced approximately 150 yards to the scene.

When they arrived, Mroz noticed a few people outside and a gentleman alerting residents of the fire.

“We started banging on windows and siding, just trying to get people’s attention that might not have known yet,” Mroz says.

When the fire grew, Mroz and Brenneman-Sorenson backed away, until a woman pointed out a man at his first-floor window next to where visible flames were escaping the building.

Photos of the burning apartment building
La Crosse Zeisler Street apartment fire
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La Crosse Zeisler Street apartment fire
Charlie Mroz took these photos of the burning apartment building after helping a man to safety.
La Crosse Zeisler Street apartment fire smoke
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La Crosse Zeisler Street apartment fire smoke
Charlie Mroz took these photos of the burning apartment building after helping a man to safety.

“We all just booked it. We knew we needed to help,” Mroz says of the group of people who instantly sprang into action. “We talked to him for a second, telling the guy that, ‘You need to get out. You need to leave. There’s a fire.’”

The man, whom Mroz believed was middle-aged, tried to exit his unit through the door but encountered the fire. The group guided him back to the window, tore off its screen and pulled him to safety.

“It all happened so fast,” Mroz says. “I remember him asking us what’s going on.”

Brodie Schwandt video of apartment fire rescue

Mroz believed the man suffered a few minor burns but was safe. The fire department arrived moments later to combat the rising flames.

After providing more information to police, Mroz and Brenneman-Sorenson slowly made their way back to their own apartment, and to soccer.

“I’m a Manchester United fan and he’s a Chelsea fan,” Mroz says. “We got back five minutes into the match. We were able to calm down and process everything.”

Charlie Mroz soccer photoshoot
Charlie Mroz is a goalkeeper for the Blugold men's soccer team.

Mroz had not planned to visit La Crosse that weekend until just hours beforehand but is glad he could help a neighbor in need. He also insists that others who were so willing to help be recognized.

Casey Holm, head coach of the men’s soccer team, says that’s part of the reason Charlie is a one-of-a-kind individual.

“He exemplifies what it means to be an exceptional teammate,” Holm says. “He is extremely empathetic, which stems from his upbringing and loss of a sibling. That would make him want to rescue someone to make sure no one else would ever feel that. Simply put, Charlie has the characteristics of a modern-day hero because of his upbringing."

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