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New Castle firefighters praise teen for heroic house fire rescue

New Castle teen rescues woman from burning home

NEW CASTLE, Ind. (WISH) — A 16-year-old is being praised by his community and firefighters for rescuing his neighbor in a house fire.

Fear did not stop 16-year-old Coy Adkins from jumping into action and saving a woman in a burning home.

“Probably would’ve been not satisfied,” Adkins said. “I wouldn’t feel the same in today’s world, so I feel like I needed to do that.”

“Very heroic,” said Jeff Murray, the battalion chief of the New Castle Fire Department. “That’s not something that everybody does all the time.”

Adkins and his stepdad Roy King, a former firefighter, were at the right place at the right time early Friday morning. The family lives across the street from the home.

Adkins says Roy noticed the fire.

“I was halfway down the stairs and I put my backpack down and I ran across the street, and I was talking to the neighbor that lives on the other half of the house and she was like ‘Yeah, the lady is still inside.’ So, I just did what I needed to do,” said Adkins.

The family says Adkins was able to drag the woman’s body out of the living room and onto the front porch.

That’s when firefighters and EMS arrived at the scene.

“I got on my hands and knees, covered my face, got to her, and I was trying to get her to come a little bit, so she could move towards me, so I can pull her out, and she was maybe like a foot away from the fire,” said Adkins.

Adkins’ mom, Heather King, says she’s proud of her courageous son.

“Prideful, beyond prideful,” Heather said. “Scared, elated, encouraged that he did that. That he sacrificed himself. I don’t know a lot of grown people who do that.”

Murray says he’s made a mark on the community.

At this time, fire investigators do not know the cause of the fire.

“I’ve coached Coy in baseball, younger years, and I told him since we’re starting a fire service program here at the career center, that he has a leg up on everybody,” said Murray.

Adkins attends New Castle High School.

He says while he’s thankful for everyone’s kind messages, he doesn’t see himself as a hero.

“I don’t want to be called a hero. I was just what I was taught,” Adkins said. “I was doing what needed to be done, but I’m very thankful for what the community is doing, what the school corporation is doing for me, and I just want to say thank you to all of them.”

While Adkins is still in high school, he says he’s already looking forward to any opportunity to play baseball in college.