What Makes A Hero?

Patrick Burke had never wanted to follow in the footsteps of his firefighter dad and brother, but he jumped into an icy lake to rescue a 9-year-old and her father, whose all-terrain vehicle crashed through ice. "I'm not that type of heroic person," said Burke. "If you had heard that girl's voice . . . it was my daughter's voice." Experts say it makes sense that everyday heroes don't stop and think about whether to help, given the character traits they tend to share. Those who put themselves forth in an emergency generally have a positive outlook on life and draw personal satisfaction from helping others, said Larry Walker, director of the graduate psychology department at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

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