Rafael Ramirez-Cordova and his buddy Donie Fogarty didn’t think. It wasn’t a thinking situation. Instead, the two men ran into a burning house on Sept. 23 on the basis of pure guts. Their bravery saved an elderly couple.
Romano and Anna Ceccato, and their daughter Tiziana, were in tears, and grateful beyond words Monday evening, during a bravery recognition ceremony at the Clair Road Emergency Service Centre. Ramirez-Cordova and Fogarty were honoured for saving the couple.
In his remarks, Tony Sabatini, Guelph Fire’s chief fire prevention officer, said the fire service does not encourage citizens to do what the two men did – risking their lives to rescue others.
But in this case, Sabatini said, had Ramirez-Cordova and Fogarty not run into the Ceccato’s burning house on Northumberland Street, it is most likely the couple would have lost their lives.
“I can assure you that if their actions had not been taken, there would have been significant injury, and probably death,” Sabatini said, calling the two men heroes.
Fire chief John Osborne thanked the two for their courage, and said their actions are a reflection of Guelph’s caring character.
“They did a great, great, great job,” said Romano Ceccato, his wife at his side. In recent times, she has been disabled by a stroke. On the night of the fire she had no way of getting out of the house on her own volition.
Ceccato said had the men not burst into the house, “there would have been a funeral.”
On the evening of Sept. 23, as the Ceccatos slept, the men came upon their house in flames. They knew the Ceccato family, lived in the same neighbourhood, and knew that Anna would be in grave danger. Ramirez-Cordova broke through the front door, found Romano and guided him outside to safety.
Fogarty went in for the man’s wife, having to crawl along the floor because of the dense smoke. Like a soldier carrying a wounded comrade, he carried the woman out of the house on his shoulder.
“I didn’t think about it,” said Rafael in an interview. “When I got inside I knew I needed some sort of courage, I needed guts to do it. My heart was beating so rapidly. I knew it was major trouble.”
He said he was proud of what he was able to accomplish. “I am happy that there is nothing to be sorry about,” he said.
Fogarty said it still hasn’t sunk in that he saved the woman’s life.
“I guess I must be fairly brave,” he said. “But I didn’t think about it. I knew she was inside the house, so I went in. That was the first, and hopefully the last time I ever run into a burning house. “
Tiziana Ceccato addressed the gathering, but could barely speak. Her feelings were so overpowering.
“Thank you so very much,” she said to the two men, her tears flowing. “Nothing could ever repay you for what you’ve done.”
The Ceccatos lost everything in the fire.
