ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — Vietnam veteran Robert Stains and his wife Cathie went to bed on July 4th after celebrating with fireworks and decorating their golf cart. But they woke up just hours later to banging on their front door and the couple's detached garage up in flames.
"We all just watched it burn. It was terrible," said Stains.
The fire could have been much worse -- if it weren't for the quick action of a group of young men who graduated from a special program at Rockingham High School that teaches firefighter and EMT skills to students across four years.
The "Public Safety Academy," which allows students to earn certifications, is offered only at Rockingham high school in the county, according to Josh Evans, Bethany Fire Department Chief, who also is the program's lead instructor
"God bless them, they did a wonderful job, they were quick," said Stains.
The first person to see the couple's home on fire in Summerfield was Hampton Mariotti, who just graduated from high school and the training program in June.
"We were coming back swimming from one of my friends' house, and then we just pull around the corner, and saw this building on fire, like flames coming out the window," said Mariotti.
He rushed to the home's front door to alert anybody inside.
"We woke them up. I rang the doorbell like 15 times, knocking on the door trying to wake them up," said Mariotti. "They were still asleep. The last thing I wanted was for them to be in the house."
Fortunately, the couple woke up and evacuated their golf course-front house. Mariotti also called 911, using communication skills learned in the academy program.
The firefighters dispatched were just down the road at a Bethany Fire Department station. They were also graduates of the Public Safety Academy.
"We were all in our rooms sleeping when the station tones went off for structure fire," said John Webb, 20, trained as a firefighter, EMT, and rescue technician.
Once graduated, the newly-minted firefighters have the option of joining a residence program, where they earn room and board at Bethany Fire Department in exchange for responding to calls overnight.
Just after midnight on July 5th, the young firefighters responded to the house fire, arriving in about five minutes after getting the call.
Crews from the Bethany Fire Department, Monroeton Fire Department, Summerfield Fire Department, and other departments also responded to the scene, according to the Bethany Fire Department.
"A lot had to do with how fast we were able to get there, where we all do live in the fire department, we don't have to respond to the station, then get the truck, then get to the scene," said Webb.
Once they arrived at the home, their first priority was to protect the main home, which was separated by a few feet from the detached garage, which was covered in fire.
"The first thing we did was put as much water as we could on the side of the house that had the most heat on it," said Aaron Scott, 18, who became a resident firefighter after graduating from the high school's academy. He said July 4th's fire was only his first or second major fire so far.
"When you roll up on scene, and you see flames 15 to 20 feet high, it's pretty exhilarating," said Scott, who now plans to focus his career on becoming a firefighter.
After making sure the home was safe, the firefighters extinguished the detached garage fire.
"I think if we didn't get there as quick as we did, I think the house would have caught on fire within the next five minutes," said Skyler Hayes, who graduated from high school just last month.
While Stains is devastated that his detached garage along with a new truck and vintage car inside are destroyed, he is grateful the young firefighters arrived so quickly.
"God bless them, they did a wonderful job, they were quick and they did. I shook their hands, I just appreciate everything they did," said Stains. "They worked hard and fast."
Chief Evans said Rockingham High School's Public Safety Academy has existed for six years so far, graduating about 150 students through the program per year. Some choose careers as firefighters after completing the programs, while others do not.
"Just looking at them and seeing who actually was the first ones there, and I'm like, 'That's pretty cool, the high school program really is working,' and we just want to thank the school system for allowing us to have that program, county commissioners, school board," said Evans.
Nobody was injured from the house fire, and the cause is still under investigation, according to Stains.