BERKELEY – Three teenagers have been celebrated by town governments and boards of education for risking their own lives – charging into a burning house to save the residents inside.
The three Central Regional High School students – Noel Acevedo, Danny Maresca, and Jakob Bodtmann – were honored by the Central Regional Board of Education, Berkeley Township Council, and Pine Beach Borough Council, since it happened in Pine Beach.
They had left Station Avenue beach just before midnight when they noticed the fire on a home on that road, the Pine Beach Volunteer Fire Department said.
The elected officials spoke highly of the boys’ bravery and willingness to risk their lives to save others. The proclamations don’t describe how chaotic and frightening it really was.
As Noel tells it, the three friends had gone fishing on the beach, but headed back to their car. That’s when they smelled the smoke.
They assumed the smoke was coming from Danny’s car, but as they circled it, they realized it was coming from somewhere else. They decided to seek out the source of the smoke – after all, there weren’t any sirens – and it was a good thing they did. They followed it to a house with a fire in an upstairs window.
They called 911. Many people would have stopped there. They didn’t.
“I climbed up to the balcony, but I didn’t see anything,” Noel said. “By the time I got down, Danny was smashing through the glass door with a chair.”
Once inside, they encountered an elderly man who had trouble hearing, and didn’t realize that the house was on fire. Then, a woman came from another room, telling them that someone is upstairs. The boys made sure these two got outside.
Danny led the trio up the stairs to a room on fire. There, they found a disoriented man who wasn’t getting out without help. They started to guide him downstairs and he went limp, so he had to be carried. The popping sound of wood being devoured by fire was heard overhead, escalating their danger.
Ultimately, they all got out safely.
This might be a once-in-a-lifetime event for most people, but the Pine Beach Volunteer Fire Department noted on Facebook that Maresca was approved to join them during the meeting when he and his friends were honored.
