People in Marcy, New York, are honoring a group of high school students who helped save a family from a burning garage just hours after coming back from their junior prom. Aiden Kane, 17, and his friends saw a house fire on May 17 as they were going home from Whitesboro High School’s prom. This is when the dramatic rescue took place.
These teens were looking forward to a fun-filled night at the prom that they would never forget. Their plans quickly changed, though, when they saw a scary orange glow in the sky at night. The glow at first looked like a bonfire, which Kane and his friends thought it was because they lived in a small, close-knit town. But as they got closer, they saw that the light was coming from a garage that was on fire.
“At first, I thought it was a campfire,” Kane said. “But as we got closer, we saw it was a fire, and we had to act fast.”
The teens jumped right into action. Kane quickly grabbed his phone and started recording himself yelling at the family inside, “Your house is on fire!” There’s fire in your house!” His words, which were caught on video, woke up the father and his two young girls, who were still in the house and didn’t know that their garage was on fire.
Kane said to the family on video, “You guys got to get out!” and they did. Even though his family was in a hurry to get to safety, Kane told one of the scared kids to stand behind a car for safety.
Kane also said, “I kept telling them, ‘You’re OK, you’re OK.'” It was my only goal to keep them safe.
During a tough time, Kane’s friends stepped in to help him. One of the teens, Donato Jellenich, quickly called 911 to report the fire. Another teen, Morgan Randall, stayed with the family to help the two girls cool down. During the tense times, Tyler Sojda, 17, who was also in the car, helped keep the family together.
The teens’ quick thinking helped the family get out of the house without getting hurt, and the fire didn’t spread to the main part of the house. Jared A. Pearl, the local fire chief, praised the teens’ acts and said they were a big reason why what could have been a terrible tragedy didn’t happen.
“A possible tragedy was avoided thanks to Aiden’s leadership and the team’s quick response,” Chief Pearl said in a statement. “They alerted the family, ensuring they had time to evacuate safely, and their teamwork made all the difference.”
The teens quickly put out the fire in the garage before it could do much damage. The fire started in the garage and could have quickly spread to the house. The Marcy family is thankful for the teens’ bravery and ability to stay cool when things got tough.
She said that seeing the scared kids hit close to home because she has a younger brother. He told her, “It made me really sad.” “I just wanted to make sure they were OK.”
Kane made the choice to move quickly because of how he was raised. Kane has often gone with his father on emergency calls because his father is a police officer and an EMT. “Seeing him in action inspired me to do what I could to help out,” he said.
People in the teens’ society are proud of how brave they are. People in the area have praised the group for their bravery, and many have shared the rescue story on social media. Not only did they keep a family safe, but they also brought the neighborhood closer together.
“When you see something like that, I think that’s what you do,” Kane said. “You just do it without thinking.”
The group didn’t expect any praise, but the fact that the family was safe was enough of a prize for the kids. Randyll said, “We were in the right place at the right time.” “It feels good to know we made a difference.”
What could have been a tragedy turned out to be a happy ending for the kids’ family and a lesson in how important it is to think quickly and work together.
“This article was written by Mathew Owen. AI tools were used lightly for grammar and formatting, but the ideas, words, and edits are all mine.”
