Firefighters, EMS, and police officers go above and beyond every day to keep their communities safe. Though the incredible acts of bravery they perform each day make them heroes to the rest of us, they often downplay what they do by saying they are simply doing their jobs.

Casey Lessard is one of these modest heroes.

“I guess I was just in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing,” Casey said recently.

Casey was working a shift as a firefighter in D’Iberville, Mississippi when he was called to the scene of a rollover accident on a nearby highway. Vanessa Dillard had been driving with her five children, each of whom are under the age of 7, when her SUV flipped over on an exit ramp.

While her two youngest children were in carseats, the other three were not wearing seatbelts and were ejected from the vehicle along with Vanessa as the car rolled repeatedly. Good Samaritans managed to pull the other two children out of the car as they waited for police to arrive.

Vanessa and four of her children were rushed to the hospital in critical condition, leaving only her 4 year-old son Gabriel behind to await transport.

“He’s scared because of the incident, but also because he’s by himself,” Chief Gerald Smith observed.

Casey noticed Gabriel crying on a backboard and immediately realized how terrifying this all must be for him, so he took action.

“He knew exactly what was going on, and because he knew what was going on, I tried to take his mind off of it,” Casey said.

The firefighter lay down on the pavement next to Gabriel and started to talk to him.

“His favorite color is yellow and green. He likes turtles, and he likes ‘Paw Patrol,’” Casey said. “I’m not sure what that is, but it sounds like a cartoon about dog police officers?”

“Here are all these strangers and loud noises, and I only imagine he was hurting every way, so I talked to him and asked him questions,” Casey said. “He kept reaching out for a hug, but we couldn’t take him off the backboard because he could have had spinal injuries. He just wanted someone to be there for him.”

Bypasser Rick Camarena, who happened to be a former Los Angeles firefighter, gave Casey his phone to help distract Gabriel. Casey immediately opened Netflix and started the first kids’ movie that appeared: “Happy Feet.”

Casey used a combination of the movie and conversation to distract Gabriel, and the boy started to calm down.

“He was still scared,” Casey said. “He watched (the movie) for a little bit with me, but then he’d go back to fidgeting and worrying about his family.”

A photo of this amazing moment between Casey and Gabriel went viral.

Though he has been hailed as a hero by people all over the world, Casey does not think he did anything special.

“I just did my job,” Casey said. “I know everyone else in our department would’ve done the same thing. The other firefighters I work with, the EMTs and paramedics, the local cops and good Samaritans did just as much if not more than me when that call came out. I just happened to be the guy in the photo. I’m not really one for all this attention.”

Gabriel was eventually taken to the hospital, where he got several stitches but was otherwise found to be unharmed. Vanessa broke her spine but is expected to recover, and the other children are now in stable condition.

We applaud Casey for going above and beyond for this little boy! Find out more about this story in the video below, and SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this as well!