WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Two city workers in Luzerne County were recognized for their heroism and bravery. As a thank you, the workers and their families were invited to Wilkes-Barre's City Hall earlier this Tuesday.
28/22 News Reporter Colby Hughes was there and spoke to those two DPW workers. They say they are still in disbelief at the quick action they took last week that saved lives.
A moment of gratitude inside of Wilkes-Barre's City Hall as Mayor George Brown awarded two DPW laborers for a courageous act.
The two were on their regular route on Wednesday when they noticed smoke coming from a home on Brown Street in Wilkes-Barre.
"We both jumped out. He went straight to the front door, and I got on the phone with 911. He wasn't really getting a response at the front door, so when I got off the phone with 911, I went around the side of the house, started banging on the windows, and it was after a couple minutes that a young gentleman came up to the window on the second floor," driver and laborer with DPW Tyler Kurilla explained.
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Once the people inside were alerted, Kurilla and his coworker actually ran inside the house to help.
"Honestly, I wasn't thinking about anything. I was thinking, 'Hey, human lives are at stake, let's get them out.' And then we found the animals and got them out. Then afterwards, we were like, wow, we went inside a house that was on fire, but it worked out the right way for the right reason, which we hope that people would do for our families, too, or anyone else's family in that situation," Aj Yelland, a driver and laborer for DWP, said.
Both Yelland and Kurilla had their families with them when they received their awards.
Yelland's mom didn't seem shocked by her son's fearlessness.
Mayor George Brown was also happy with the outcome that day and was always willing to reward outstanding workers in the city.
"I was very proud, very proud of these two gentlemen, and I'm always proud whenever I go to a fire scene, and I see what our fire department does, the police go above and beyond, and dpw, so I was very proud that day," Mayor Brown stated.
Yelland and Kurilla tell 28/22 News that if they see such a scene in the future, they would do it again in a heartbeat.
