- September 9, 2024
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First published Aug. 6.
What did you do this summer?
Matanzas High School junior Logan Pacarro might have the best story to tell when he goes back to school on Monday.
On Tuesday, Aug. 6, Pacarro, 17, helped a neighbor escape from a burning house.
A fire at a home on Burning Ember Lane in the B section of Palm Coast started on the back patio where the homeowner was apparently working on a generator. The fire extended into the attic and burned through the roof, according to Lt. Patrick Juliano, Palm Coast Fire Department’s public information officer.
Logan, a defensive lineman on the Matanzas football team, was eating lunch when he looked in his back yard and saw “a big flame of fire.” He went outside and heard his neighbor yelling for help. Logan's mother, Crystal Pacarro, asked him to get the ladder while she called 911.
“I ran the ladder over to his house and tossed it over the fence,” Logan said. “I helped him down from the fence. He was in his patio and his fence gate was locked, so there was no way for him to get out.”
The initial dispatch was received at 12:14 p.m. and the first crew arrived at 12:21, Juliano said. Palm Coast Engines 21, 22 and 23, a battalion, two rescues and Ladder 11 from Flagler Beach Fire Department responded.
The crews fought the fire from the exterior as a defensive operation, Juliano said, because the flames had extended through the roof.
“Initially they tried an aggressive attack,” he said. “But it was too great in the attic space and already put a hole in the roof. Once the fire gets into the attic space there’s risk of a structural collapse.”
Juliano said Ladder 11 directed water through the roof. The fire was under control at 1:17 p.m., and the operation was terminated at 3:37 after firefighters completed a check for hot areas. No one was hurt.
A law enforcement officer helped Logan get the homeowner away from the house, Logan said. The teenager said he spoke to his neighbor later in the evening and he was OK.
“I’m glad we were available to get him to safety,” Crystal Pacarro said. “Logan did all the work. I just called 911. We’re very grateful that the gentleman is OK.”
The Palm Coast Fire Department has a badge pinning promotional ceremony scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 8. Juliano said Tuesday night that he is working to get approval to add another presentation to the ceremony — presenting a civilian lifesaving award to Logan Pacarro.
“I think that’s pretty heroic for a young person to help a fellow neighbor in distress,” Juliano said.
