DENMARK, New York (WWNY) – A town of Denmark man says “the miracles are still happening” after he and his family escaped from a house fire last month.
“I was on my hands and knees, bumping into furniture, and somehow I found the door,” Frank Buchal said.
Buchal was on pure adrenaline the night his town of Denmark home went up in flames, trying to find help for his son and wife upstairs.
“A passerby stopped,” Buchal said. “He asked if that one bulldozer would start, with that loader on. Of course, out of all nights, it would not start.”
That passerby, Dustin Groff, was one of eight people honored Monday night by the Denmark town board for their efforts on May 12.
He grabbed ladders to help the family escape.
“True hero of the night is the bystander, Mr. Groff,” West Carthage Fire Chief Pete Crump said. “To get out of his own car, no regard for his own safety, to go to work and help save somebody, it’s just a testament to someone’s character.”
Two Beaver Falls firefighters, two West Carthage firefighters, one state trooper, and two Lewis County sheriff’s deputies were also presented with a Life Saving award.
“It’s with great gratitude that the town of Denmark board thanks these brave individuals for the courage they displayed that evening,” Denmark town supervisor Scott Doyle said. “No doubt their involvement made a difference in that night’s call.”
It’s a picture of agencies — and neighbors — joining forces.
“Everybody has to work together, we’re all on the same page, and we all want to go home every night,” Lewis County sheriff’s deputy John Northrop said. “Everybody has a good mindset.”
Buchal was taken to Carthage Area Hospital that night and later to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, where he stayed for weeks. He suffered from smoke inhalation and burns to his esophagus.
“Roughly 14 days on a ventilator,” Buchal said. “All kinds of therapy.”
It wasn’t until he got off the ventilator that he realized the full magnitude of the response that night.
“Several times I watched the video,” he said. “You get choked up. Thank God we have volunteers and people who will risk their lives to save yours.”
With a brighter outlook on life — and gaining friendships along the way — Buchal says the miracles are still coming.
“I knew I had a lot of friends,” he said, “but I’ve got a lot more.”
The plan is to rebuild the home Buchal has lived in for 54 years.