Are the kids black? And all the guy saw was fire. He didn’t know if the kids were black or white.
Turned out the kids were white. But, as you noted, all he saw was a house on fire. He called 911. Then he went in. Perhaps he realized the firemen wouldn’t get there in time. He was right.
Based on his description of the interior, the house was filled with smoke (damaged his lungs). So he would not be able to tell what race they were until he had them in hand. At that point, it didn’t matter what race they were. He had already committed to saving them the moment he stopped. That’s why he was and is a hero in the best, most selfless sense of the word.
The rub for me was the wokester comment below the article trying to imply he would not exert himself as much (or perhaps at all) if they had been black. As I wrote, my level of revulsion at the mentality that must see every issue through its agenda-driven lens is somewhere contempt and pity.