By: Katie Heck
Our District had a very special guest at Station 102 this evening! Chief DiLallo invited 14-year-old Hunter to visit the station after learning about how he took action during a fire emergency on July 4th of this year. Through social media, our District staff learned that Hunter, while on his way to a fireworks stand in Lehigh Acres, observed an unattended fire in a trash receptacle on the side of a residence. While some people would just drive by, or maybe just call 911, Hunter sprang into action.
Hunter ran to the home from the street and immediately began banging on the door of the occupied home to alert them to the emergency. He then grabbed a nearby hose and started to extinguish the fire, suffering some minor burns on his legs in the process. The residents of the home began to come outside as the fire was extinguished.
The fire was reportedly caused by fireworks left in a recycling bin. Our District responded to a lot of these types of fires over the holiday weekend, and even responded to a 911 call for this fire, as it was called in by a passerby who couldn’t provide an exact location. Hunter was efficient in his firefighting – by the time our engine arrived in the area to investigate, there was no fire or smoke observed in the neighborhood.
For his quick action, and willingness to risk his safety to help others, Chief DiLallo presented Hunter with our first Community Youth Hero recognition. The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District believes that good kids are newsworthy, and while we know we probably miss a lot of the acts of kindness happening in our community, we are happy we were able to publicly recognize Hunter as a role model for his peers.
