High school senior, off-duty firefighter save elderly man from burning home

LEXINGTON — Bryer Miller was chosen as Minuteman of the Year this past football season.

"My coach said I'm ready in a minute's notice," Miller said.

The senior at Lexington High School was even quicker than that during a recent house fire. He and Johnsville firefighter Bailey Dretzka are credited with saving the life of an elderly man who was trapped in his home.

"If they weren't there, he wouldn't have made it," Johnsville fire Chief Harlan Barrick said of the elderly man. "He would not have had the strength. The smoke would have got him."

The fire happened in the wee hours of March 15 on Ross Road, near Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Tom Moyer, 81, and his wife Audrey Moyer lived in the one-story ranch home.

Miller lives next door, his bedroom facing the home. The teen was up late texting his girlfriend.

"It was exactly midnight," Miller said. "It sounded like a rock hit my window."

Next, he saw orange from the flames.

"It lit the whole room up," Miller said. "I yelled to my dad that the neighbor's house was on fire. I threw on my pants and boots and ran that way."

Dretzka was headed there, too.

The 25-year-old has been with the Johnsville Fire Department for about three years. He was off-duty that night.

"I actually live on the same road as the fire, just the other end," Dretzka said.

He heard the scanner traffic.

Elderly man was trapped inside house during fire

"It came out as entrapment," Dretzka said. "I knew I'd beat the engine, so I just went."

He said he was wearing only Crocs, a T-shirt and jeans. Dretzka did not have any fire gear and actually violated department policy.

"Captains and above are permitted to go directly to a scene," Capt. Malcum Salyers said. "(But) Bailey made a great judgment call. He did what he needed to do."

Barrick added, "We don't need 10 people on the scene without a fire truck. We'll discipline him over that later (he said with a smile). He made the right choice."

When Dretzka arrived, Miller and his dad, Charles, had secured a ladder from a side building on the Moyers' property.

They had made their way to the house through a small wooded area between the properties.

"My dad knows where their bedrooms are," Miller said. "I saw Tom's head poke out through the smoke."

Audrey Moyer had managed to escape the house and was sitting in a neighbor's car.

Even though the house was only one story, the rescuers had trouble reaching Tom Moyer. Barrick explained a large window was about 6 feet off the ground.

Dretzka went up the ladder with Miller behind him. Charles Miller held the ladder steady.

"I could reach him and get him, but I didn't have the leverage," Dretzka said of Moyer. "I needed help to pull him out. I could lift him up to his belt, but I couldn't get the rest of him."

Barrick added, "One-person rescues aren't easy."

Resident was 'covered in soot'

Dretzka said Moyer was "covered in soot."

Fortunately, Miller was there. The 6-foot, 190-pounder has a powerful build from hours in the weight room for football. He made first-team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference last fall.

"Bailey had one of Tom's arms around him," Miller said. "Bailey kind of picked him up, and I pulled. We got him through the window."

Moyer, 81, who was not available for this story, sat at the base of the ladder to collect his thoughts. He was transported to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, then to Columbus, for exposure to fire and smoke.

"I picked him up, and I carried him to the road and put him in the same car as Audrey," Miller said.

He then ran back inside his house to get water for himself, his dad and Dretzka.

There was a long night ahead.

"I didn't sleep. Me and my dad sat out here until sunrise," Miller said. "I don't know if I felt anything. I was just hoping Tom lived."

Miller took two days off from school to process what had happened.

He and his family have lived by the Moyers for about 10 years. They also own a family farm to the west.

Teen hero has lived next door to fire victims for 10 years

Miller has felt a longtime kinship with the elderly couple next door. He used to walk through their yard to reach the bus stop for school.

"They'd give us pizza, sometimes even fish," Miller said. "We've been cutting their firewood for 10 years."

The cause of the fire has not been determined, but it started in the attached garage, where Moyer has tools. The fire has been ruled accidental.

"With the circumstances, we contacted the state fire marshal's office," Barrick said. "We didn't know if Mr. Moyer was going to make it."

Moyer has since left the hospital. He and his wife are staying with relatives.

"It's not livable," Barrick said of the Ross Road residence.

Johnsville received assistance at the scene from Troy and Springfield townships, Iberia and Morrow County EMS.

Barrick said they had the fire knocked down in 15 or 20 minutes, using 3,000 gallons of water.

While trying to determine a cause, the chief knows other facts about the fire.

"When they (Millers and Dretzka) went over, the garage was already collapsed," Barrick said. "It had a good burn time. I'll bet it was burning a good 15, 20 minutes.

"His wife made it out on her own. How, I don't know. From what we determined, she went out front.

"She went and woke him up. When he stood up and went to pull his pants up, he got a breath of the smoke and lost his energy."

Barrick added, "Most people that die in a fire die of smoke. Bailey and Bryer were in the right place at the right time."

Off-duty firefighter 'glad' everything worked out

Dretzka said he didn't realize he was a hero that night.

"At the moment, I was more concerned with putting the fire out," he said. "I'm just glad it ended the way it did. Everything worked out."

The chief said the experience "hit home" for Dretzka.

"You could tell," Barrick said.

Dretzka actually decided to become a firefighter after meeting Barrick at the Mansfield Fire Department, where Barrick worked for nearly 30 years. He rose to the rank of captain and retired about a year ago from the fire prevention bureau.

Dretzka is a mechanic for the city fire department. He decided to take a side job as a volunteer fireman.

"I like the idea of people helping people," Dretzka said.

The night of the fire, he was on the scene in six minutes. He and Miller had Moyer out in a minute, though it felt much longer to them.

Miller might give him some company at the station. He said he is now considering being a volunteer fireman. He joked he would like to see Dretzka in the daylight.

As Miller prepares to graduate from Lexington next month, he has applied for a job with the village. He said he hopes to be a carpenter because that's what Jesus did.

Miller's faith is important to him and, perhaps, was part of the rescue.

He wears a bracelet on his right wrist with the words Philippians 4:11-13, which says, in part, "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington High School senior and Johnsville fireman team up for rescue