Teens honored for heroic acts

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LOCK HAVEN - The three youngsters were just goofing around and having a good time, strolling down a back street of Flemington in early September. That is, until they spotted the smoke.

What happened next is a classic tale of cool wits and correct actions in the face of an emergency.

On Thursday, the three young men were rewarded for their efforts - not that they would have asked for anything - on behalf of the Lock Haven Family Practice, 610 High St., Flemington.

Craig Laubach, 15, of Lock Haven; Aaron Heck, 15, of McElhattan; and Andrew Weaver, 16, of Mill Hall, never thought they'd be drawn into an emergency response, and they never expected, nearly a month later, to stop by at the business and discover 30 or more grateful employees standing out in the parking lot waiting to thank them.

The young men received a certificate.

They each received a card signed by the entire staff.

And each was given a $50 bill. The cash came as a complete surprise.

They weren't even remotely thinking about rewards when they sprang into action Sept. 4, after seeing a plume of smoke rising from a local building.

According to Deputy Chief Jonathan Temple of the Flemington Fire Department, the teens did exactly what was required to minimize the danger to the building and its occupants.

They alerted people to the danger and they prevented the fire - the flames began in a Dumpster and were rapidly crawling up the side of the building - from doing further damage.

Workers at the family practice said it was a pretty chaotic time.

Without the boys' calm demeanor and efficient use of resources, it could have turned out badly.

"One of the teens looked for and found the fire extinguisher and another told us to call 911," one worker said. "We got the patients out into the parking lot as the building started to fill up with smoke."

"We were coming from the house and were going to go swimming when we saw the smoke," Laubach said. "We ran up and saw the fire, so Andrew started knocking on the door."

"All we did is help tell people there was a fire," Heck said.

"Craig and Aaron started running and I followed," Weaver said. "We grabbed a fire extinguisher from inside and tried to get it out, then one of us got some water from inside."

Temple said everyone is appreciative of the boys' efforts.

"We are here to give them certificates in appreciation for their acts on behalf of the county, the fire company, the family practice staff and the patrons," he said.

Cori Myers, a secretary with the practice, said employees were seeing patients at the time and knew nothing about the fire.

"We heard a knock on the back door, opened it and there were three boys out there telling us the place was on fire," she said. "We started evacuating patients while the kids tried to put it out with an extinguisher. They did a pretty good job until the fire company arrived to finish things up."

All the staff members offered words of praise for the teens' quick actions.

"They were very admirable and brave," Myers said. "We're very thankful."

"What they did was above and beyond the call of duty," Temple said. "We absolutely love to give these kids the credit they deserve."