MOOSIC, Pa. — They say heroes come in all shapes and sizes, but in case you needed proof, look no further than Lucas and Mae Gervasi.
On the night of Dec. 8, 10-year-old Mae Gervasi heard a sound coming from her neighbor’s house in Moosic.
“I heard crackling, and I looked out the window, and I saw the grill on fire,” recalled Mae Gervasi of Moosic.
She told her brother, 14-year-old Lucas Gervasi, and he immediately leapt into action to put the fire out.
“My neighbors have been there since I moved there, and I don’t know, my first thought was to just put it out,” said Lucas Gervasi of Moosic.
He started shoveling snow onto the fire until the Greenwood Volunteer Hose Company arrived. Firefighters say Lucas and Mae’s quick thinking saved their neighbor’s house from burning down.
“I would have just been in shock, but he just was out there, I don’t even know where he got the shovel, and just throwing shovels of snow on it,” said Deborah Callahan, the Gervasi’s neighbor. “Thank god for them, I really thank god.”
To commemorate both Lucas and Mae’s courage, the hose company, the Moosic police department, and the borough council gave Lucas and Mae a certificate, honoring their heroism.
“Very proud of them, I don’t think they realize what a big deal it is, trying to explain it to them, I said, ‘one day you’ll understand just how important what they did was,’” said Frank Gervasi, Lucas and Mae’s father.
“Very proud and hoping one day they will realize what they did because they don’t really understand the impact that they have right now,” said April Gervasi, Lucas and Mae’s mother.
Living proof that heroes can come from anywhere.
“I’m just happy that, I don’t know, I did something that night, I guess, everyone else seems to be happy too,” said Lucas Gervasi.