"He saved our lives."
That is what victims of Tuesday's intense fire on South Lehigh Street in Tamaqua said as they described the heroic actions of the modest hero who banged on doors and reunited a lost child with his mother.
While leaving a Fourth of July celebration around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, William Thomas, of 322 West Broad St., was driving down Stadium Hill when he noticed an orange glow in the sky. He didn't know what it was at first, until he came upon the massive fire that was engulfing the homes.
One of the first things Thomas noticed was Amanda Dana, of 11 South Lehigh St., crying as she held her two year old daughter Elizabeth. Dana was terrified because she couldn't find her seven-year-old son Alex.
Dana, who was quick to grab her two-year-old daughter, didn't see her son behind her during t