When Robert Johnson pulled several people from a burning vehicle his natural instinct was to extend a hand to fellow human beings who were in serious danger and needed help.

But, as he looks back at the terrifying ordeal more than a year later, Johnson admits that he sometimes can’t help but feel like Superman, the fictional comic book hero with god-like powers.

Last Thursday, Johnson’s name was included on this year’s national honours and awards list as one of four Jamaicans selected to receive the Badge of Honour for Gallantry.

“I feel like Superman sometimes. It’s a joy when I think about what I did. I feel so proud,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

“I never knew it would come to me, and I really feel excellent. This thing is not a normal thing that I’m gonna get. It’s a very special moment of my life. I can’t explain the feeling. I get to meet a lot of people; I get to shake their hands, and it’s just gonna be so much love. It’s unbelievable what is coming to me. A lot of people would like this moment I am going to get so I feel special and loved. It’s an honour,” he added.

The national award is presented to civilians who demonstrate great courage, heroism, or bravery in circumstances of extreme danger. Johnson will officially receive his insignia from the governor general at the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards on National Heroes’ Day in October.

Johnson said, however, that the recognition is secondary to the lives he was able to save.

The Allman Town resident said he was on his way home on February 16 last year when he noticed a vehicle engulfed in flames. As several people stood nearby recording the incident he got out of the vehicle in which he was travelling to find out what was happening. It was then that he realised people were trapped inside the burning vehicle.

Without hesitation, Johnson moved towards it in an attempt to help.

Among those trapped was his 19-year-old nephew, Dantae Francis, as well as his cousin, 26-year-old Tavaugn Miller, both of whom survived. The other occupants were the driver, 33-year-old Andre Wright, and Kawayne Fearon. They both died.

Recounting the incident, Johnson said he was unaware that his relatives were in the vehicle and was simply trying to save a life. To his shock, he locked eyes with his nephew’s when he approached the car.

“When I looked in the car, is my nephew eyes I looked into and him tell me seh, ‘Uncle, my toes them already burn off, please get me out.’ Mi get weak [and] me get strong; I don’t know what came over me but I went in to save them,” he recalled.

Johnson said he suffered burns during the rescue and had to retreat at times because of the intensity of the fire. However, he returned to the burning vehicle.

He said he knew the situation was extremely dangerous but there was little time to think about his own safety.

“I know the car could explode and blow up on me but that was out of my mind at the time. I just wanted to save them,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Although the memory remains vivid, Johnson said he is grateful that he was able to help those who survived.

“Even if it was a stranger in the car, I would stop and try to save them because I never knew who it was in the car. But, it’s just love all over and love alone. Respect and dignity to everyone because life is precious,” he said.

The rescue was an expression of a principle by which Johnson has tried to live, that of helping others whenever he can.

“All of us are one people. We may not have the same father or mother but we are all Father God’s people. We are one, so we must respect people, share love, honour and help them when we can because people are as precious as anything else,” he said.

“We just have to keep the love, keep it real and see what we can do for others. We need to look out for people and see how we can help them,” he added.

He believes he arrived at the scene at the right moment and was destined to intervene.

Johnson recounted that on the night of the incident his taxi driver was initially hesitant to leave his house to pick him up, but Johnson encouraged him, a decision he now believes helped put him at the scene in time to assist.

“I believe I showed up in the nick of time. If I didn’t stop I don’t know what would have happened,” he said.

“It’s like I was Superman. Me a seh, ‘No man, this unbelievable.’ It took a while before I really registered what I did because my heart was beating fast and I was crying to see the people and what happened. But, after all this time, I feel so proud of myself, and I can say it was a good job,” said Johnson.

More than a year later, he said he still remembers the incident whenever he passes the area where the rescue took place.

His family, too, continues to feel the effects of that night. Johnson said both his nephew and his cousin are still undergoing therapy, while nursing life-changing injuries.

“All of us live in Allman Town. I can see each one of them. I go around and make sure the two of them alright. Sometimes we have a little laugh and remember what happened,” Johnson said.

He said he is anticipating receiving the Badge of Honour for Gallantry and has already begun planning what he will wear to the ceremony.

The medal will be a lasting reminder of a frightening night but for Johnson, it will also be a reminder of a simple decision that changed lives.

“People are more precious than anything else. We just have to keep the love, keep it real, and see what we can do for others,” he said.