It takes just a moment to change a life.

The Valley Preferred Spirit of Courage awards recognized the actions of men and women Tuesday night who placed their own lives at risk to save another person from burn injury or death.

Two men from Nesquehoning and one man from Palmerton were among the 28 people honored at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg in Bethlehem.

From Nesquenhoning, Mayor Thomas Kattner and Robert Watkins were honored for their bravery in saving the lives of a child and an elderly woman during a fire on April 18. From Palmerton, the late Paul Strohl was honored posthumously. He was the first person to reach a demolition derby driver who had caught on fire on July 24, 2021.

Nesquehoning Fire Chief John McArdle with the Nesquehoning Hose Company Number 1 nominated Kattner and Watkins.

“Their actions made a situation - that could have been much worse - a lot better,” he said.

Neither Kattner nor Watkins are volunteer firefighters, but both were in the right place at the right time.

A little before 1:30 p.m. on April 18, Kattner saw heavy smoke and fire coming from a building on West Catawissa Street in Nesquehoning. A three-story, four-unit apartment building was on fire in the rear of the building. The fire also effected a single-family house next door.

Kattner said he parked his heating oil truck as far away as he could from the buildings and ran over. A woman was screaming outside that her child was still in the apartment building. He didn’t know where the child was located, but he ran in and up the stairs to the second floor. He couldn’t see the child because of the smoke, but he could hear her screaming for help.

Kattner said he put out his hands to try to find her. When he did, the little girl, who is about 3 years old, was clinging to a table leg in the kitchen. She was scared and didn’t want to go with him, but he asked her to calm down and told her that he was going to help her get out. He carried her down the steps and out of the building. In all, he thinks it took him about five minutes to find her.

Kattner said he knows there are people who wouldn’t call running into a burning building without any fire protection a smart thing to do.

“I look at it this way,” he said. “I’m 38; that kid was a young little child that still has a life to live. I have a nice life. I’m not a rich man. I’m not a poor man. I have a beautiful wife. I have two crazy beagles. I hope that kid, maybe one day, can succeed to be something bigger in life. Would I do it again? Yes, I would.”

While Kattner was rescuing the child, Robert Watkins was saving the life of the 92-year-old woman who lived in the house next door. He was in the neighborhood working when the fire broke out. Although not a firefighter, the fire chief knows him. Watkins is his plumber.

After rescuing the child and woman, both men then went into another building threatened by the fire to help everyone get out. No one was injured in the fire.

“It’s a great honor,” Kattner said about receiving the award. “To be honored for something that any man or woman would do, I don’t know what to say. Once I again, I would do it again if I had to.”

Watkins was not able to be attend the awards ceremony.

McArdle said he is thankful to the two men for stepping up and not waiting to react, and he is thankful to Meed’s United Methodist Church for opening up the church to the victims and finding supplies of diapers, formula and other items for the families.

“They stepped up and went right into action,” he said.

Fire Chief Alexander Cortezzo III with the Plainfield Township Volunteer Fire Company nominated the late Paul Strohl for the award. Strohl passed away a few months after the rescue. His grandson Kyle Strohl accepted the award on his behalf.

Strohl was at the demolition derby at the Plainfield Township Farmers Fair in July 2021 when one of the cars was struck by another car and the relocated fuel tank ruptured causing a mist of gasoline to spray all over the car and its interior.

The car stopped near a concrete barrier and the driver climbed out and onto the hood. That’s when the gasoline ignited and engulfed him and the car. Strohl was the first person to reach the driver.

Between Strohl and Seth Yahraes, a lieutenant with the Plainfield Township Volunteer Fire Company, and fire crews, they were able to stop the fire. The driver sustained second-degree burns, but survived.

Yahres said it was several months later, after Strohl had already passed away, that they found out the name of the mystery person who jumped in to help save the driver’s life.

Corissa Rolon, the CEO and executive director of the Burn Prevention Network, said, “We are grateful to be able to celebrate each and every individual at this event and are privileged to share this year’s honorees’ inspirational stories.”

The Spirit of Courage awards program has recognized the heroic efforts of these individuals for 17 years. Created by the Burn Prevention Network, Lehigh Valley Health Network and Valley Preferred, the awards event brings together nearly 1,000 firefighter, police officers, emergency medical technicians and business people from across the state each year. Proceeds from the event go to support the Burn Prevention Network’s Camp Susquehanna, other burn survivor support programs, and LVHN’s Regional Burn Center.