Robin De Haven rescued six people from the burning Echelon building in Austin.

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    An employee of Binswanger Glass Company, De Haven jumped into action once he realized trouble was on the horizon. On the way to a job in north Austin on that somber Thursday, he pulled over when he saw the suspicious airplane go down creating a plume of black smoke. His previous military experience, ladder, fast reaction time and big heart helped enable him to rescue six people from the burning building.

De Haven shares his account of what happened and the motivation behind his heroic actions.


Tell us about that day.

What motivated me to go there was just a feeling I had. I thought maybe I had a little bit of experience to help. I didn’t know if there was anything I could do.

I didn’t go over there thinking I was going to run into a burning building. That never crossed my mind. I didn’t even know what I was going to come across. I thought it was a plane crash, but I didn’t know if it hit a parking lot, a building or a street. When I came up on the building I thought “Oh geez, he hit a building. There are going to be a lot of people in there.”

The first thing I did was call 911 before I exited the highway. Of course they had a lot of calls, but I did that because it was my first thought.

What was next?

When I got off the phone, a gentleman came over and said that people needed help. At that point, I stopped thinking about what I wanted to do and just did it. It was a weird step-by-step process that I went through in my head. Until I completed one task, I didn’t even think about what was next.

When he said people needed help, I just asked where. Six people were there. I didn’t even know that for three days. I thought there were five at the time, but when I met two of the survivors three days afterwards, they told me there were six.

How did you know where to go?

The spot the man took me to was the focal point. Once I got everyone down using the ladder, I was wondering if there was anybody else. Someone told me that everyone was out from that office and that the hallway was filled with smoke. I could not go any further.

Were you scared at all?

No. I wasn’t at all. That’s what kind of scared me afterwards. I was like “What’s wrong with me? Why did I not worry about self preservation?”

I wasn’t scared at all until after it happened. Afterwards, it all hit me and I cried.


You spoke with two survivors since this happened?

I just wanted to meet them and know that they were doing okay. They were kind of speechless too. They just wanted to express their thanks. We all have our own lives, but we shared a cool moment. They are just trying to get back to a normal life. They just got new computers and are going back to work somewhere else. It was pretty neat to talk to them.

Has this changed your perspective?

I have thought about my faith a little bit more. I always feel like someone’s looking out for me. It seems like I have been very lucky and blessed. I have had a lot of random things happen to me, but this one seals the deal. Every day is like a puzzle. I still feel like a little kid in an adult world, but I have a kid myself. I have just learned not to worry so much and be thankful for what I have. It pushes me even more to help provide a good, stress free life for my son.

How old is your son, and does he know what you did?

He just turned four. He is now coming into his own and has more of an understanding of what is going on around him.

His grandma tells him that his daddy is a hero, but he doesn’t understand. I think he will just think it is something cool, but I will still just be his dad and I like that.

Tell us about your background.

I am from Indiana. I moved to Austin two years ago. I joined the Army in October 2001 and did my basic training. From March 2002 to March 2005, I lived in Bamberg, Germany. During this period in 2003, I did a 10-month tour in Iraq. From April 2005 to February 2008, I was stationed at Ft. Hood. I completed a second tour in Iraq from October 2006 to December 2007.

I became an Austin resident in December 2007 when I came back from Iraq. I really like Austin.   There is a wide range of people and all different types of personalities.

What has changed for you since then?        There has been all this attention. I feel like I became my own personal assistant. Sometimes I felt like I was going to pull my hair out, but it was cool to see what the other side of the fence is like. It is kind of neat, and I have been able to experience a lot of cool things, but I can see how it could drive someone crazy getting that much attention all of the time.


What do your parents think?

My dad’s not much of a talker and he still treats me the same. That’s my dad and I love it. He’s cool. My mom was in shock at first. I called her right after it happened and I don’t think she understood until later when she saw all of the publicity. They were a little surprised at the scope of everything, because it was such a huge ordeal and I was a part of it.

Is there anything you’d like to add?

Just the message for us to stop being selfish. Nobody is expected to do this stuff except the professionals and you shouldn’t go out looking for it, but you should just think about how you can help. Nothing is predictable and I just want to try to make the best of everything and teach this to my son. I have good parents and I hope I can be as good.

De Haven has received recognition from the City of Austin, American Red Cross, Texas Governor Rick Perry, congressmen, and many others. He is known locally and nationwide as a hero for his actions. Binswanger Glass, founded in 1872, is a large glass distributor in the U.S.  –km

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