3 teens run into burning farmhouse, rescue sleeping couple

Three teenage boys were driving home from a friends’ house in the early hours of New Year’s Day when they saw a bright orange glow in the distant sky.

“It looked like a sunset, and we drove towards it,” said Colby Simmons, 16, who was with the two other teens in Atkinson, Maine, about 30 miles from Bangor.

As they approached, they realized what it was.

“It was a house on fire,” said Robert Weymouth, 16.

Weymouth and his cousin, Kaleb Weymouth, 14, called 911 while Simmons knocked on the front door. Hearing no response, Simmons walked into the burning home – a two-story farmhouse, attached to a large barn. Fortunately, there were no animals inside the barn.

It was around 1:20 a.m., and the teens said the left corner of the barn was in flames, but it was rapidly spreading to the farmhouse.

“I knew that there were probably people in there,” Colby said, adding that the two others followed him into the house after they called 911. “They were right behind me.”

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” Robert said. “Everything happened really quick.”

They walked into the unlocked house, screaming, “Your house is on fire!” Kaleb said. They saw a man fast asleep.

“As soon as you walk in the door, one was asleep on the couch,” Kaleb said. “He was pretty close to the flames.”

The teens woke him, and he ran to get his wife, who was sleeping in their bedroom on the first floor, Kaleb said. The couple scrambled to get dressed, and the teens said they helped them grab a few important belongings, including medication.

The fire had spread considerably after they got the couple out of the house, the teens said.

“If we gave it another 20 minutes, the whole house would have been on fire where they were sleeping,” Colby said. “I’m just happy we got them out safely and nobody was harmed.”

The boys said the couple was shaken up by the fire, but relieved they got out before it was too late.

“They were really grateful,” Robert said.

The couple did not respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post. Brian Gaudet, chief of Dover-Foxcroft Fire Department, the nearest fire station to Atkinson, said he thinks the husband and wife are in their late sixties.

Twelve fire departments from three nearby counties were called to the scene, and firefighters battled the blaze until about 8 a.m., then returned from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. because of a rekindling in the farmhouse attic. The teens stayed with the couple for several hours of the night.

“We stuck around until about 4,” Kaleb said. “We just wanted to make sure they’d be all right.”

Although the crews were able to salvage some personal belongings from the home, “all in all, it’s a complete loss,” Gaudet said, adding that the cause of the fire is currently under investigation, “but it’s not suspicious.”

No one was harmed in the fire, which was first reported by Bangor Daily News. The couple is staying with family and friends for now, Gaudet said, and they are thankful to the teens for rescuing them.

“What they did was very heroic, and without a doubt, it probably saved both of those people’s lives,” he said. “I believe if the boys didn’t act when they acted, it could have been a different outcome.”

Gaudet said that every situation is different, and bystanders need to assess an emergency scene before deciding whether it’s safe to intervene or too much of a danger.

“You always have to weigh the risk,” he said.

Atkinson is a tiny rural township with a population of about 326 people. Given how sparsely populated the area is, “who knows when the next person would have been by,” said Gaudet, noting that the boys made the first 911 call about the fire.

The teens said they’re glad they followed their instincts. When asked their advice for others, they had a quick reply.

“Don’t hesitate,” Kaleb said. “Do the right thing.”