Mystery hero meets man he rescued from burning home

The identity of the mystery man lauded as a hero for saving an elderly man from a burning home in Fresno over the weekend has been revealed.

Until Monday, Thomas Artiaga’s identity was unknown, but his heroic actions were seen by thousands of people after a cellphone video of the rescue was posted online.

Filmed by a passerby, the video shows a man emerging from a cloud of smoke while carrying the 73-year-old man over his left shoulder and away from the house fire.

Artiaga was tracked down Monday and reunited with the man, Robert Wells, at a hotel, days after flames swept through the home in the 4300 block of East Dakota Avenue on Saturday, KFSN reported.

Wells, who uses an oxygen tank to help breathe, had apparently been struggling to flee his fiery home. That’s when Artiaga spotted him and rushed to his aid.

“It was just an instinct, you know,” Artiaga told KFSN. “Instinct, you see someone and help out people.”

Wells called Artiaga “one of those Good Samaritans that’s hard to find anymore.”

Artiaga has since offered to help Wells and his family after losing their belongings in the fire, KFSN reported.

For breaking news in Los Angeles and throughout California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA. She can be reached at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.