While most people would run from fire alarms in order to stay safe, two Rhode Island middle schoolers went towards the alarms on New Year's Day and their act of bravery saved the lives of three dogs.
Anthony Lombardi, 12, and Mario Comella, 13, heard the alarms blaring from their neighbor's house and decided to see what was going on, WPRI reported.
When the friends, who were riding their bikes through their neighborhood, got to the front door, they noticed smoke was filling the house.
It was at this point that they could see the friendly pups freaking out.
"We saw the dogs, they were panicking and barking, and it was so loud," Lombardi told WPRI.
Not being able to open the door, the two boys contacted their friend who lives there, and he gave them a code to unlock the front door.
The parents of the two boys' friends, Athena DiBenedetto and John Salisbury, shared with 12 News that the family was at breakfast when their home filled with smoke, and the boys' heroics were captured on home security cameras.
Once it was open, they started calling for the dogs inside the smoke-filled house. Two of the three dogs, Faith and Boo, came rushing out the front door, but the third, a German Shepherd puppy named Chase, was locked in his crate.
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Forgoing his own safety, Comella ran inside, unlocked the crate, and brought Chase out of danger.
"With all of the smoke billowing in the house, he didn't even think twice," DiBenedetto said of Comella. "He ran in and let the dog out."
The fire in the home was started by a cutting board left on a stove burner that was on for more than an hour, WPRI reported. The burner was accidentally turned on by one of the dogs, according to Salisbury.
"These are very easy to turn on, so she jumped up and put it on high," he explained. "It smoldered for an hour."
No matter how it started, the family shared they are extremely grateful for the boys who saved their dogs' lives.
"It was very emotional," DiBenedetto said. "Those are my babies."
"I still can't watch [the security video] without getting teary-eyed and thinking about what would have happened if they were there five or 10 minutes later," Salisbury said.
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