First, the flash of light.

Then, a flash of action — flying through hallways and up stairs, kicking doors, sounding the alarm for fellow soldiers and others renting rooms in a house outside Fort Drum, New York, that the whole place was about to go up in flames.

Then, while standing outside in minus-20 degree weather, shoeless, surrounded by representatives of nine volunteer fire departments, a flash of reality.

"I ended up losing everything I own," Sgt. Anders Olafson said Wednesday, recounting the events that took place in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 8. "I ended up not grabbing anything. It was so bad when I got up ... I wish I had grabbed my car keys and my cellphone, I didn't even think to grab that."

Because of the sub-sub-zero night, Olafson kept his door open to let more heat in, something he said he'd never done in the six months or so he'd had the room. Olafson doesn't remember thinking much of anything the evening of the fire — "I just went. I just moved," he said — but he's sure the frigid temperatures helped save his life and those of others renting rooms in the apartment house.

In the middle of the night, the native New Englander awoke to find his room "wicked bright," but what he thought might've been a light turned on in the hallway ended up being the wall of the nearby furnace room, already fuel for a fire that was spreading fast.

Olafson said it took him about three minutes to alert his housemates and make sure everyone was escaping the blaze. His fellow renters, including several service members, told the Watertown Daily Times that his actions saved their lives.

"We would not have gotten out if it weren't for him," Sgt. Luke Hitchcock, who served with his rescuer in 2013 during Olafson's second Afghanistan deployment, told the paper, which reported the incident Sunday.

"We all agree that if Andy hadn't woke up when he did to come and get us, we all would have died," Shanan Schnurer told the Daily Times.

Olafson lost all his possessions in the fire just days before he was to leave Fort Drum for recruiting duty in Maine.

Photo Credit: Spc. Osama Ayyad/Army

Recruiting, and rebuilding

The fire disrupted what should've been a less-than-stressful time for Olafson, riding out his final days at Fort Drum with Task Force Support, Task Force Spartan — remnants of the 10th Mountain Division's deactivated 3rd Brigade Combat team before heading to Bangor, Maine, to begin three years of recruiting duty about an hour from his hometown of Madison.

Instead, he was homeless, uniform-less, even identification-less.

"His keys and his wallet were lost in the fire: We couldn't even get him on post, initially," 1st Lt. James Raub said. "We had to get him to the MP station, get him approval ... as an exception to policy."

Despite the downsized chain of command, Olafson said he found support from all corners, especially 1st Sgt. James Johnson, who took the lead securing additional funds from Army Emergency Relief and helped keep Olafson's housing allowance from being shut off, saving him a good deal of red tape with his upcoming move.

"My leadership has stepped up, above and beyond," he said. "Everybody talks about 'toxic leadership'? Not here."

Donations have rolled in as well, both in cash and in kind — everything from new boots to new electronics, plus a hat-passing effort that had topped $400 by Wednesday afternoon.

"People have given me some uniform [items], but I have to buy some brand-new ones," Olafson said. "I can't be wearing sub-par uniforms. I'm going to be the face of the Army. I'm not going to look like crap, know what I mean?"

The future recruiter (he's heading back to the infantry "as soon as this is over," he said) also has another part of his presentation nailed down — a lesson learned he hopes to pass along to future soldiers.

"I kick myself in the butt for not having renter's insurance," he said.

Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.

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