MARCY, NY – A group of teenagers returning home from junior prom are being hailed as heroes for helping get a father and his two daughters to safety after noticing that the family’s garage was on fire.
According to NBC News, 17-year-old Aiden Kane can be heard in a cellphone video yelling, “Your house is on fire! Your house is on fire!,” to alert the occupants of the house. The incident happened on May 17th. Kane, his girlfriend Morgan Randall, and their friends Donato Jellenich and Tyler Sojda were driving back from their junior prom at Whitesboro High School when they saw the garage engulfed in flames.
Kane said the orange glow looked like a bonfire, which they thought would not be unusual on prom night. However, upon getting closer, they realized what was actually happening. The cellphone video shows Kane telling the dad and his two girls, “You guys got to get out!” and, once outside, telling one of the shaken children, “You’re OK,” and to stand behind a car.
Jared A. Pearl, chief of the Maynard Fire Department, one of several agencies that responded to the fire, said that Kane alerted the family, which allowed them to get to safety. He said that Kane also asked whether there were any pets inside; Jellenich called 911 and Randall stayed with the family and helped with their children.
Pearl said that no one was hurt during the fire. He said in a statement, The family was safely evacuated before flames could reach the main structure of the home. Thanks to Aiden’s leadership and the team’s quick response, a potential tragedy was averted.”
Sojda said their comforting the children touched closed to home because he was a little brother. Randall said, “We were there on the right time.” Kane, a junior, said that his father has worked for police and EMS and that he has been on calls with his dad because emergencies have happened while they were together. He said, “Seeing him doing it kind of inspired me to help out the family.”
People Magazine reported that Sojda said that the fire “sounded almost like gunshots popping.” He said, “Something clearly exploded and the fire got pushed out plenty far. So if Aiden didn’t go up there and get those people out, I think that the fire could have spread.” He said that the group “didn’t think twice” about rescuing the family.
Pearl said, “If they didn’t do this, if they didn’t get everyone out and call 911, it may have been three to four minutes before we got there. And by then, the house would have been fully involved.”
