Charles J. Sergel

Charles J. Sergel rescued Anna Barone from burning, South Wales, New York, April 17, 2024. Anna, 5, was trapped inside the bathroom of her father’s first-floor workshop in a two-story barn as smoke and flames engulfed most of the first floor. Sergel, 51, welder, was driving past the Barone home with his 10-year-old son when he noticed smoke coming from the workshop, pulled over on the side of the road, and ran approximately 300 feet up the driveway. Outside the workshop, Sergel saw Anna’s 16-year-old sister, who told him that Anna was still inside. Sergel entered the workshop through a garage door and immediately encountered heavy smoke and flames. Sergel, walking slightly bent over with his sweatshirt pulled over his mouth and nose, began calling out for Anna, who was not responding. Sergel eventually heard Anna whimpering, and he ran through a flaming doorframe into the bathroom, where he found her sitting in a water-filled utility sink with flames on the ceiling above. Anna had climbed into the sink and turned on the water for refuge. Sergel picked up Anna, ran back through the bathroom doorway, and exited the workshop the same way he had entered. Anna was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where she was treated for smoke inhalation and burns; she has since recovered. Sergel was treated for smoke inhalation at a hospital; he recovered.

2024-0000125-10491