Struthers man recognized for saving girl from fire

He pulled the 6-year-old neighbor from her burning house.
STRUTHERS -- Damion DeRobbio doesn't consider himself a hero.
When he crawled through the window of a smoke-filled, burning home to rescue then-6-year-old neighbor MacKenzie Palmer last April, he was doing, in his words, "what needed to be done."
"You do what you can and hope for the best," said DeRobbio, of Struthers. "You never lose hope.
"MacKenzie gave me and everyone else a reason to believe in happy endings. Something bad turned into something good."
Heroic acts
On Wednesday, it got even better for DeRobbio when he was among 15 individuals in the United States and Canada named recipients of the Carnegie Medal for heroism acts. The medals are awarded to individuals who "risk their lives to an extraordinary degree while saving or attempting to save the lives of others," according to the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission.
The honorees were recognized for acts that included rescuing neighbors from burning homes, dragging injured motorists out of burning cars and pushing a drowning woman to safety. The commission meets five times a year to choose heroes, and about 100 medals will be awarded this year, according to Douglas Chambers, director of external affairs.
DeRobbio was honored for his efforts during the April 22, 2004, fire that destroyed a one-story house in Pulaski Township and trapped MacKenzie inside. MacKenzie's mother had tried to save her but was unable to reach the bedroom where the child was sleeping.
Clutching Frankie, her then-16-month-old son, DeVite ran to DeRobbio's house 150 yards away. He heard her screams and pounding on the window.
DeRobbio and Pulaski Township police officer Chad Adams, who had just gotten off duty but heard the call at 3 a.m., rushed to the house.
Eventually, DeRobbio was able to gain entry to the house through a window, reach MacKenzie and pull her to the window, where he handed her to Adams. She was taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. DeRobbio and Adams had some cuts and scrapes, but no major injuries.
Lesson learned
DeRobbio said the fire taught him a valuable lesson: Appreciate what you have, and take nothing for granted. He also learned that, when it counted, he stepped up.
"Looking back, and not trying to do something, it would have haunted me for the rest of my life," he said.
MacKenzie's father, Josh Palmer, said his daughter wrote a report about the fire and DeRobbio's rescue of her for her second-grade class at Pulaski Elementary School. The family plans to mail the report to DeRobbio.
"It was a hero-theme, and she picked him," Palmer said. "She said she was thankful he saved her life and was there that night. We're so grateful."
Philip DeRobbio, Damion's father, said he couldn't be prouder of his son.
"It was such an unselfish act," he said. "Without any forethought, he was willing to give his all to someone he really didn't know. It's a good feeling as a father, as a parent, as a person."
MacKenzie's mother, Michelle DeVite, said she regularly counts her blessings that her daughter is with her today. She said DeRobbio and Adams will "forever be a part of our family."
"This has definitely changed my life," she said. "You learn that on any given day, everything could be gone, including your family. And you learn how amazing people can be, people who don't even know you."
Along with a Carnegie Medal, DeRobbio, 25, will receive $3,500 from the commission and be eligible for tuition-scholarship assistance. He said he plans to use part of the money toward purchase of a new vehicle and the rest will go into a savings account for the son he and his wife, Sophia, are expecting. He said he also plans to return to school.
Industrialist Andrew Carnegie started the hero fund in 1904 after being inspired by rescue stories from a mine disaster that killed 181 people. Since the fund was established, 8,884 people have received the medals and $27.7 million has been given in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance.