Man rescues boy from fire
Published: August 29, 2006
Adrenaline took over Chris Garber when he heard his neighbor scream that her house was on fire and she couldn’t find her 5-year-old son.
“That’s all it took,” Garber said outside his Penn Township home Monday afternoon.
As fire investigators re-entered the 414 Frederick St. home where a Sunday morning fire sent Garber and eight others to area hospitals, Garber reflected on his efforts to save the little boy.
Garber, 23, was watching TV about 1:30 a.m. when he heard someone screaming. He went outside and saw his next-door neighbor, 31-year-old Stephanie Jacobs, running up and down the street shouting, “My house is on fire!”
She told Garber she couldn’t find her 5-year-old son, Justin, so Garber rushed inside the smoke-filled home to find him.
He couldn’t see. He couldn’t breathe.
But he felt for the stairs, which, because he had been inside Jacobs’ home before, he knew were nearby.
An upstairs room to the left of the stairs was dimly lit by a television. That’s all Garber could see through the thick smoke. He felt around for Justin, but came up empty handed.
When he turned around, however, Justin had come out from another room, where he had been hiding in a corner.
“He came running into my arms,” Garber said.
Garber picked up the crying boy, hung him over his shoulder, hurried outside and put him in his mother’s arms.
“Is there anyone else in there?” Garber asked Jacobs.
She told him her husband, Daniel Jacobs, 36, was trapped in the basement.
Garber told his mother, Margaret Garber, to call 911. She stood outside with Stephanie Jacobs, who collapsed in her arms.
Meanwhile, Chris Garber ran back inside the burning home to the basement door, which he said was open a crack. He could hear Daniel.
“He said, ‘I’m trapped,’” Garber said.
But the basement door wouldn’t budge.
Garber was running out of air, and had to rush back outside. He was gagging and couldn’t breathe.
By that time, firefighters had arrived.
An ambulance gave Garber oxygen.
Nine sent to hospital
After putting out the fire in about five minutes, firefighters found Daniel Jacobs, who had severe smoke inhalation and burns to both legs, Penn Township Fire Chief Jan Cromer said.
Stephanie Jacobs had burns to her leg, arm and face.
Daniel and Stephanie Jacobs were taken to York Hospital, but were then transferred to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Center in Baltimore. Daniel remained in critical condition this morning and Stephanie was discharged, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Margaret Garber said Stephanie Jacobs called from the hospital Sunday night, but Stephanie didn’t remember anything that had happened.
Eight people, including the Jacobses, were inside the home when it caught fire. Their children, Justin and 8-year-old Jessica Leonard, were also inside.
Also inside was Kimberly Golden, a friend of the family, and her three children, Matthew Rydberg, 6; Sierra Golden, 11; and Tyler Whieldon, 4.
Everyone but Daniel and Justin had escaped the home without rescue. Kimberly Golden, 35, and her children, who were staying overnight at the home, were taken to Hanover Hospital, where they were treated and released.
Chris Garber was also evaluated at Hanover Hospital Sunday morning.
Golden and her family have returned to their home in Heidlersburg, and Justin and Jessica were released to Margaret Garber, who said the kids are now staying with other family members in Maryland.
The Jacobses’ two dogs, a Rottweiler and a puppy, were picked up by an animal control officer for evaluation, Margaret Garber said.
‘He’s so brave’
Cromer said officials are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, but he was told gasoline had been spilled in the basement accidentally.
At the fire scene Monday, Cromer said he had no further information on the blaze, which was contained to the basement. The rest of the home sustained smoke damage. A damage estimate was not available.
Rushing out to help her neighbors of two years on Sunday was instinct for Margaret Garber, who was a firefighter for six years with Barlow Fire Co., and has experience as an emergency medical technician.
But it was her son’s actions that she commended.
“I love my son. He’s so brave. I’m so proud of him,” Margaret Garber said. “He’s about helping people, being there for people.”
Chris Garber said he didn’t think twice.
“It was like an adrenaline rush. I just wanted to run up in there and do what I could to help,” he said. “I wasn’t worried about myself at that point.”
Chris Garber volunteered at the Greater Hanover Chapter of the American Red Cross Monday morning. Everyone there was calling him a hero, he said.
But he said he doesn’t agree.
“I just did what everyone else would do,” he said. “I don’t feel any different.”
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