// a href = ./ //

   An off-duty St. Louis firefighter is being called a hero after rescuing a man who had driven his truck into the River Des Peres Sunday.  

   Firefighter Chris Dimza was driving in the area just west of I-55 when he saw a crowd of people was pointing toward the river.  He stopped to see why.

   Upon learning that a truck had gone into the rain-swollen river, Dimza, who's part of a water rescue unit stationed in north St. Louis, dove into the water and swam toward bubbles.  A man surfaced briefly and the firefighter was able to bring him safely to shore.  

   Fire Department divers later pulled the man's truck from the water.  

   The driver was taken to a hospital.   He has not been identified and his condition is unknown.  No one else was injured in the incident.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Christopher Knafelc (kuh-NAY-ful) was a recovering drug addict with a long rap sheet who often wondered if he was a good person, and perhaps never considered that anyone thought he was a hero.

<br><br>

But that was before he leaped onto the tracks to help a stranger he'd just seen fall off the platform at a Philadelphia train station.

<br><br>

He called up to people on the platforms to get the trains stopped, knowing one would be arriving soon.

<br><br>

Now, the 32-year-old Knafelc is being hailed as a hero and he's holding his head a little higher. He's taking the praise from his good deed as another sign that he's on the right path in life.

<br><br>

Still, Knafelc says he was just doing the "right thing."