Heroes come in all shapes, genders and sizes, and they aren't always wearing a uniform. In fact, sometimes the people you least expect are capable of acts of extreme heroism and sacrifice. One such hero distinguished himself earlier this month in Henan Province, China.

Ren Liubin came to the aid of a pregnant woman when he heard her screaming for help from her third floor apartment. With no regard for his own safety, Ren climbed up the side of the building (which was on fire by the way) in order to get up to the woman's unit.

Firefighters were called to the building for a fire that reportedly broke out on the second story of the structure. They were able to contain the blaze, but seemed unable to get to the woman in need of help. Enter Ren, who jumped into action, and managed to pull the expecting mother (and already mother of two) out her third floor window to safety.

The truly amazing part of this story is not the heroic acts of a complete stranger, or the work of the firefighters, but the fact that Ren did all of this while suffering from the debilitating effects of polio, a disease that has been virtually eradicated from North America.

"The situation was quite urgent, but I believed my years of experience of fixing cables, so it wouldn't be difficult to climb a few floors up. The firefighters passed me a hydraulic pliers to remove the metal grille and I dragged the woman out," said Ren.

Initial reports indicate that the fire was started by old, faulty electrical cables, but that isn't really the big question. Why was Ren forced to climb the building while firefighters were on site?

Share this to hail all of the everyday heroes who go above and beyond for complete strangers.