Thursday, January 8, 2026

Guardsman averts tragedy, pushes burning vehicle away from gas pumps

The identity of a National Guardsman who prevented a potentially large explosion at a gas station in Tlaxcala on Wednesday may be unknown, but that hasn’t prevented him from becoming a social media star.

The man, whose action the guard publicized with a video on its Twitter page Thursday but did not name, has received hundreds of congratulations and good wishes from social media users after he used his patrol car to push a burning truck away from the station’s gas pumps.

The guardsman had responded to an emergency call about the truck being in flames. After he pushed it out of the way, other emergency personnel arrived to put the fire out. There were no injuries.

Guard officials praised the officer for “not worrying about the risk and avoiding a major incident.”

“These actions reinforce our conviction to protect the public at all times.”

Social media users responded enthusiastically to the man’s actions, with commenters calling him brave, saying he deserved a medal, and thanking him for his service to Mexico. Some called upon the guard to identify him so he could be publicly recognized.

One user commented, “That is the true call to service, and he ennobles the institution. Congratulations to that [guardsman].”

Sources: El Universal (sp), TV Azteca Noticias (sp)

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