Current:Home > reviewsNeighbor risks life to save man, woman from house fire in Pennsylvania: Watch heroic act -Edge Finance Strategies
Neighbor risks life to save man, woman from house fire in Pennsylvania: Watch heroic act
View
Date:2025-04-18 04:51:15
In a dramatic rescue, a brave neighbor is seen pulling residents out of a Pennsylvania home that became engulfed by black smoke.
In the video from the incident on April 14, you can hear on lookers yelling for one of the men to get out of the Minersville home, 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Firefighters below can be seen hastily getting their equipment ready to bring the man to safety, according to Storyful.
“Come on! Come on! Come on!” yelled Janeen Huth, a passerby who recorded the heroic scene as she was on her way home. “Come on buddy, get out!”
People in the street are heard yelling for the man to get out of the house through the top floor window.
The brave citizen, identified as Oscar Rivera, pulled the man from the window while balancing himself on the roof.
“Grab his pants!” Huth said.
Rivera then pulled the man through the window. People that were watching in the street clapped and cheered for the man’s rescue. A firefighter is then seen climbing up a ladder to bring the man and woman, that were already on the roof, to safety.
In a split second, the smoke gained more momentum and got thicker, making it hard to see the three people on the roof.
“Come on get them down!” Huth said. “Just move her over!”
A firefighter was able to get all three of the people from the roof and to safety.
Huth told Storyful that Rivera saved the woman and elderly man as his children witnessed their father’s heroic event unfold.
Fire destroys:Copenhagen's historic Old Stock Exchange as residents race to save treasures
Minersville Mayor thanked brave neighbor and others for springing into action
In a Facebook post, Minersville Mayor Sean Palmer thanked Oscar Rivera for helping to bring his neighbors to safety.
“First of all I would like to publicly thank the individuals who sprung into action to save those two individuals,” Palmer wrote in the post. “Mr. Rivera was a civilian who was first on the scene. He showed bravery and was able to extract a man and women from the top floor window of the burning building.”
Palmer then thanked the firefighters who helped during the rescue.
“I would also like to recognize the two volunteer fire fighters who went up ladders to the top floor to get them all down,” Palmer said. “Fire Chief Mike Melochick from the Mountaineer Hose Company #1 and volunteer fire fighter Luke Heffron from Minersville Fire Rescue. These two volunteer fire fighters went up the ladder to get all three of them off the roof and out of harms way.”
Palmer said that both firefighters were treated for severe smoke inhalation but are expected to be okay.
Red Cross says multiple people were displaced because of the fire
The Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter helped the families that were impacted by the fire.
"Our Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter did respond and provided support to the 19 people impacted by this fire," Stephanie Fox, media relations lead for the American Red Cross National Headquarters told USA TODAY. "Support provided included immediate assistance and caseworker assessment of each families situation and what individual needs they may have."
Fox said 15 adults and four children were helped by the Pennsylvania Chapter.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X @forbesfineest.
veryGood! (547)
Related
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Why Team USA hurdler Freddie Crittenden jogged through a preliminary heat at the Olympics
- When does Simone Biles compete today? Paris Olympics gymnastics schedule for Monday
- USA's Suni Lee won Olympic bronze in a stacked bars final. Why this one means even more
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- Florida power outage map: Over 240,000 without power as Hurricane Debby makes landfall
- GOP leaders are calling for religion in public schools. It's not the first time.
- USA Women's Basketball vs. Germany highlights: US gets big victory to win Group C
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Novak Djokovic beats Carlos Alcaraz to win his first Olympic gold medal
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Hyundai, Nissan, Tesla among 1.9M vehicles recalled last week: Check car recalls here
- Meghan Markle Shares Why She Spoke Out About Her Suicidal Thoughts
- Sha'Carri Richardson gets silver but no storybook ending at Paris Olympics
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- 2024 Olympics: Anthony Ammirati and Jules Bouyer React After Going Viral for NSFW Reasons
- Noah Lyles is now the world's fastest man. He was ready for this moment.
- Keep your cool: Experts on how to stay safe, avoid sunburns in record-high temps
Recommendation
Could your smelly farts help science?
Buying Taylor Swift tickets at face value? These fans make it possible
Bloomberg apologizes for premature story on prisoner swap and disciplines the journalists involved
Team pursuit next for US cyclist Kristen Faulkner: 'Want to walk away with two medals'
In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
A college closes every week. How to know if yours is in danger of shutting down.
Simone Biles, Suni Lee on silent Olympic beam final: 'It was really weird and awkward'
Social media bans could deny teenagers mental health help