KEY POINTS:
- Two 20-something men rushed into burning home after hearing screams, according to WTHR
- Guy Tarlton, 56, was trapped after falling asleep while cooking on Father’s Day, per multiple sources
- Tarlton suffered burns on 30-34% of his body and was hospitalized in critical condition, Channel 27 News reported
- The rental home had no smoke alarms, Tarlton’s nephew told WTHR
- Bystanders were reportedly filming instead of helping, according to witness accounts in multiple sources
Two young men from Marion, Indiana are being praised as heroes after rescuing a man from his burning home on June 21, 2020, while bystanders allegedly stood by recording the fire, according to multiple news reports.
Tré Jones, 25, and Marcus Harvey, 24, were in the neighborhood on South Adams Street in Marion when they noticed smoke around 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon, WTHR reported. “I’m like ‘I smell some smoke. Somebody’s house is on fire,'” Jones told WTHR.
According to Sunny Skyz, which cited WTHR, the two men found people standing in the front yard of the burning home, with some recording the fire on their phones. “They basically tell us there’s a guy inside the house,” Harvey told WTHR. “We didn’t know where he was at, just heard him screaming and everything.”
The victim was 56-year-old Guy Tarlton, who had fallen asleep while cooking Father’s Day dinner, according to multiple sources including Sunny Skyz and apost.com. According to Channel 27 News’s search results, Fire Investigator Brandon Eckstien said Tarlton had put a pot on the stove but then fell asleep on the couch, with the fire starting when grease in the pot ignited.
“Then I started hearing him,” Jones told WTHR. “I’m like so why are you all just standing there?”
Jones described to WTHR how he kicked in the door: “When I kicked the door in, fire, smoke, all that came through. It blew out at me. I see a little tunnel area I can duck down and get underneath the smoke. Now I could hear him a lot more clear so I’m like ‘here I come.'”
According to apost.com, the two men could not see anything due to the severity of the fire and thick smoke, and had to follow Tarlton’s voice to find him on the floor.
“Picked him up, scooted him out the house. When I got to the door, Marcus assisted me. He grabbed by his pants. We dragged him out here. That’s when the firefighters came and stuff,” Jones told WTHR, as quoted by Sunny Skyz.
Harvey expressed his faith in their rescue to WTHR: “As we’re coming out of the house, we can’t see anything but only thing I can sit there and tell you if you believe in God, mysterious things will happen. He was there the whole entire time showing us the way out.”
The extent of Tarlton’s injuries was severe. According to WTHR’s search results, Tarlton’s nephew said his uncle had burns on 30 percent of his upper body, including his arms and head. Channel 27 News reported that Fire Investigator Brandon Eckstien said Tarlton had first- and third-degree burns over 34% of his body and was in a medically-induced coma after being transferred from Marion General Hospital to Lutheran hospital.
Tarlton’s nephew told WTHR that his uncle’s rental home had no smoke alarms, according to both WTHR and Sunny Skyz.
CBS4Indy and Fox59’s search results indicated the victim was taken to a hospital in Fort Wayne and was in critical condition at last check. According to Channel 27 News, Eckstien credited the two men with saving Tarlton’s life, saying “we appreciate them assisting us” and “we’re very grateful for what they did.”
Jones and Harvey met Tarlton’s family members for the first time on Tuesday following the rescue, according to WTHR. The search results from WTHR indicated that Tarlton’s nephew wanted his mother, Guy’s sister, to meet the rescuers to thank them.
The two rescuers told WTHR they had been keeping in touch to get updates on Tarlton but couldn’t visit him due to COVID-19 restrictions, according to the search results.
Community members praised the two men as heroes, according to CBS4Indy and Fox59’s search results. “It’ been positive vibes, everyone’s been calling us superheroes. It’s a good feeling,” Jones told CBS4Indy and Fox59.
However, Jones rejected the superhero label in his interview with CBS4Indy and Fox59: “I don’t say I’m a super hero, but I’m human. I help when I can help.”
According to WTHR, Jones reflected on the rescue: “I didn’t know it was that bad. When I was in there, I didn’t know, I wasn’t even thinking how bad it was. I just knew I had to get him out. It makes me feel good. Like – I know I saved somebody’s life for real.”
Tarlton’s nephew praised the rescuers’ instincts to WTHR: “They just had an instinct of human nature to save a person if you hear them saying help.”
According to Channel 27 News, the fire was ruled an accident, with the blaze spreading from the kitchen into the living room and utility room where Tarlton had been sleeping on the couch.
The BL’s search results indicated that the City of Marion recognized Jones and Harvey with plaques celebrating their bravery, with Mayor Jess Alumbaugh stating he was “truly inspired by the courage and compassion of these two young men who selflessly risked their own lives to save the life of another.”
