Teen Who Rescued Child From House Fire, Gabriel Vivoni, To Receive Mansfield Citizen's Award
MANSFIELD, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The city of Mansfield is set to recognize the effort of 17-year-old Gabriel Vivoni, who saved an 11-year-old neighbor from a house fire on Monday.
Next Monday, November 11, Mayor David Cook and the Mansfield Fire Department will award Vivoni the Citizen's Meritorious Act Award.
That will happen at 7:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers.
Vivoni was returning home from swim practice on Monday when he saw a neighbor's house on fire.
He said he initially thought it might be someone welding, but something made him take a second look. That's when he realized it was a fire.
"I ran to the door and I knocked on it and I was banging," he recalled. "I was ringing the doorbell trying to get their attention. No one responded."
He'd called 911 and hurried to get his parents. Still, the vehicle parked in the driveway worried him. Perhaps it was the lifeguard in him, but the 17-year-old says he had to make sure no one was inside. So he rushed into the burning garage.
He was able to enter the home through the garage door.
"As soon as I turned the corner, I found the boy," says Gabriel. "He looked pretty tired."