Redondo Beach firefighter Capt. Ben Bellante was covered in ash from the Palisades fire when he approached a Calabasas mother of two, Briana Cap, in a Target parking lot on Jan. 13.

She was struggling with loading her groceries into her car while holding her toddler; he just wanted to help.

Bellante loaded the groceries for Cap. Then, he extended his hand toward Cap’s daughter — and they fist bumped.

The good deed may have been second nature for the veteran South Bay fire captain. But it was a moment that resonated with millions of people online — when Cap posted it on X, formerly Twitter, later that day.

“One of the guys, covered in dirt/ash, came over smiling and said, ‘I’m gonna take care of this for you,’” Cap wrote in the lengthy X post, which has since been viewed more than 8.4 million times. “Once the bags were loaded, this kind stranger offered my toddler a fist bump, which she happily accepted.

“The contrast of her cherubic, dimpled, unblemished little hand against his scratched, dirty, and well-worn fist was striking.”

Cap, who had voluntarily evacuated from her home with her husband and her children, ages 2 and 4, went on to describe what that small moment meant to her.

“Those hands, that man, and all the firefighters have been through (a lot) this week,” she said in the post. “Those hands have been hard at work for seven days straight, pulling 24-hour shifts (some even doing doubles!) in the most insane, worst-case-scenario conditions imaginable.

“Those hands have saved lives, houses, and animals,” Cap added. “Those hands have salvaged items from burning homes and set them lovingly on the curb so the owners have something, anything to come back to, besides a smoldering pile of ash where their house once stood.”

Bellante could have walked past her, going about his business, Cap said.

But he offered her a helping hand — displaying, she said “how selfless, kind and generous these firefighters are.”

The thread has become so popular that it was covered by national news outlets, including “Good Morning America.”

“Here he is, going on day seven of battling one of the most vicious fires in the history of our state,” Cap said in an email last week. “He has to be physically, mentally and emotionally drained at this point. He could have very easily just gone about his business and not checked on me, and that would have been fine, of course. The man deserved a break!

“But the moment he saw that I might be in need of a hand, he sprung into action,” she added. “You could tell it was just second nature to him to help others. He didn’t even think twice.”

Bellante, who was named Firefighter of the Year in 2023 by the Redondo Beach Rotary Club, was unavailable for comment. But fire Chief Patrick Butler said he wasn’t surprised at Bellante’s actions.

“If he did this once, he’s probably done it a hundred times,” Butler said in a Friday phone interview. “I always say (firefighters) have a servant’s heart and a warrior’s spirit. This is what they do.”

The RBFD team, Butler said, loved reading Cap’s post and the subsequent outpouring of support it inspired — with hundreds of people commenting on the thread and thousands sharing it.

“We didn’t need 20 more cases of granola bars at the stations,” Butler said. “This was what we needed.”

Butler responded personally to Cap’s X post with his own reply in the online thread:

“California firefighters take immense pride in serving their communities,” he wrote. “That quick fist bump and a warm smile? Likely the highlight of their day — or even their week.”

Butler also invited Cap and her family to tour a Redondo Beach fire station when things settle down.

Cap, for her part, said she was surprised the small moment got so much attention.

“I was shocked that the thread took off like it did,” she said in her Friday email. “I didn’t write it with the hope or expectation that it would go viral. I merely wanted to share my experience because it had been such a heavy week for our city.

“After so many stories of loss and tragedy, I figured we could all use some joy, but I had no idea of just how desperately people needed it.

“I’m just so glad these firefighters are getting the love and recognition they deserve.”