Kate Winslet Saves Richard Branson’s Elderly Mother From Fire

Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet

Sometimes stories about celebrities seem so improbable that you feel like they were created by a bored People magazine reporter with a Mad Libs (the "January Jones calls Bobby Flay after car accident" story comes to mind...).

Such was the case with yesterday's report that Kate Winslet saved Richard Branson's mother from a fire that destroyed the Virgin Group CEO's Caribbean home.

Winslet was vacationing at Branson's $70 million private island home in the British Virgin Islands with her boyfriend (model Louis Dowler) and two children (with ex Sam Mendes) when the fire -- caused by lightning from Tropical Storm Irene -- destroyed the entire home.

Winslet and about 20 others were able to evacuate in time and were not harmed. Branson was staying in the house next door.

"Many thanks to Kate Winslet for helping to carry my 90-year mum out of the main house to safety," Branson blogged on Monday. "Around 20 people were in the house and they all managed to get out and they are all fine."

[PHOTOS: Winslet escapes fire at Branson's island home]

"We will rebuild the house as soon as we can," he continued. "We have a wonderful staff here and we want them to stay in work... There's a lot of damage but we'll create something even more special out of the ruins."

This seems to be the week of Celebrities We Love Doing Heroic Things in Real Life.

This story originally appeared in The Famous. You can follow The Famous on Twitter, too!