Accidents happen; that is the reason why we, as parents, teach our kids about safety, first aid, and what to do in case they face imminent danger.
Athena DiBenedetto, John Salisbury, and their son were out for breakfast on the morning of New Year’s Day.
They locked their doors, leaving behind their three dogs.
The homeowners have done this before, and they thought nothing would happen.
Unfortunately, something bad happened.
At that moment, best friends Anthony Lombardi, 12, and Mario Comella, 13, were outside biking.
They were enjoying the beautiful day in their Coventry neighborhood, riding their bikes and looking around, when, suddenly, they heard the alarm of their friend’s home.
Lombardi and Comella stopped to investigate.
The first thing that the boys noticed was the loud barking of the dogs.
“We saw the dogs, they were panicking and barking, and it was so loud,” Anthony said to WPRI.
The boys then saw the smoke, and with their quick thinking, they called their friend, the homeowner’s son.
They told him there was thick smoke from their home.
Alarmed, the homeowners gave Lombardi and Comella the code for the front door.
After opening the door, they called the pups.
Two dogs, named Boo and Faith, immediately ran outside the house.
The boys knew there was another one inside.
Mario decided to save the puppy, a German shepherd dog named Chase. The scared pup was trapped inside his crate.
Before going inside the home, Mario told his friend to call 911. Then, the little boy ran inside and saved Chase.
The homeowners immediately went home, and they were relieved to know that there wasn’t any major damage in their house.
Of course, all their fur babies were safe.
“With all of the smoke billowing in the house, he didn’t even think twice,” DiBenedetto said, thinking about brave little Mario. “He ran in and let the dog out.”
It’s true, the young boy was only 13, but he was brave and clever. He knew what to do and acted fast, preventing casualties.
Based on the investigation, Salisbury explained that one of his pet dogs turned on one of the stove burners. Then, the dog was able to put it in the highest setting.
This caused the stove to ignite a cutting board on top of it.
According to Salisbury, the cutting board smoldered for more than an hour.
“It was very emotional. Those are my babies,” DiBenedetto said.
We understand what she feels. Imagine coming home to that scene, it would have been tragic if it wasn’t for the two brave boys.
“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,” said John Salisbury.
Everything happened so fast. If the boys didn’t go out that day, we can’t imagine what could have happened.
We’re pretty sure the parents of these two heroes are proud of them, and we are too.
Watch the full video below and don’t forget to share this with your loved ones.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
