TriMet receives commendations from riders daily calling out the agencies operators for helpfulness and customer service, but a recent email caught TriMet's attention as it came not from a rider but a family who credits one of TriMet's operators with saving their lives.
On Monday January 2 at 7:30 a.m., TriMet bus Operator Justin Clemens was in his car, headed into work for his morning shift at the Powell Operations Facility when he felt the urge for some breakfast at Jack in the Box. His detour gave him the opportunity to drive down a street in his old neighborhood; a side trip down memory lane. He had no other business to be on SE 137th street, but there he was. That’s when he noticed flames shooting six feet out of the chimney of a house. Justin pulled over and immediately dialed 911, then ran to the house.
“I was woke up by a man in a TriMet uniform knocking on my bedroom window telling me my house was on fire and I needed to get out now,” the homeowner John wrote in a commendation sent into TriMet.
“I woke my wife, told her to grab one of my two daughters, Alisa and Abigail, 3 and 4. This man met me at my door, helped my wife, told us to put the girls in his car to keep warm. The fire department arrived a few moments later and put the fire out… My family owes him a debt we couldn’t possibly repay,” wrote John.
“To be honest, I am a religious person, and I believe God directed me to go that way,” said Justin.
He has been driving for TriMet four years and is no stranger to community commendations; Justin has nine of them. The last one was on Valentine’s Day from a mother of a boy (and bus enthusiast) Justin waved to while waiting at a traffic light. He’s been described by colleagues as humble and caring.
The family Justin saved has had to move out of state as the fire, which apparently started in the flue and ran through the attic space, made the home inhabitable.
“God has a special place for this man,” wrote John, “and you’re lucky to have such an excellent employee.”
