Three men deserve praise for saving kids
The city of McMinnville was gracious enough to honor the three men responsible for pulling three children from a burning apartment and the Standard would like to take this opportunity to do the same.
Police officers Mike Hainey and John Hollandsworth, along with bystander Adalberto Orellana, were the heroes who saved three small children – all under age 5 – from the fire on Dec. 29.
During their official recognition last week, McMinnville Fire Department Chief Kevin Lawrence said there is no doubt in his mind the three children would have died had it not been for the action of the Hainey, Hollandsworth and Orellana.
The two officers arrived at the scene before Orellana and entered the apartment through a window. The smoke was so dense, they were forced to use their hands to find their way through the apartment and locate 2-year-old twins.
The officers were about to re-enter the apartment to try and save a 4-year-old boy when they realized Orellana had already gotten there first. He wandered on the scene and immediately burst into the apartment through a window when he learned there was a small child inside. Orellana found the boy unconscious under his bed in a room full of smoke.
The plaques awarded to the men, and the few kind words directed their way in this column, do little convey the magnitude of their actions. Without regard for their own lives, the men did whatever they could to save the lives of others. These were children they didn’t even know.
In this post-Sept. 11 era where the word hero gets tossed around liberally, there aren’t any greater heroes than Orellana, Hollandsworth and Hainey. The three men could have darted inside the apartment, been overcome by smoke, and been unable to fight their way out. They could have very easily lost their lives while trying to perform a good deed.
The sad news coming from Newport, Tenn., yesterday morning shows how devastating house fires can be. A family of five, two parents and their children ages 5, 2 and 1, all died in their East Tennessee home in a fire blamed on a wood-burning stove. There were many tears when fire fighters and police officers carried the bodies from the home as many community members were in a state of disbelief.
We are so fortunate such a scene didn’t take place here and we have three brave men to thank for that fact. It’s great to know these type of people live here in our hometown – people who will leap into action and do the right thing.
To John Hollandsworth, Mike Hainey and Adalberto Orellana, we thank you for your heroism. You can live the rest of your lives knowing you saved the life of another.