Middletown Resident Honored For Saving Neighbor From House Fire

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — At the Jan. 21 Middletown Township Committee meeting, North Middletown resident Robert Clancy was honored for running into his neighbor's burning home on Dec. 18, and dragging the sleeping elderly man to safety.

Clancy is seen here at the meeting last Tuesday night with Middletown Mayor Tony Perry. He was given a Life Saving Valor Award from the Township.

As Patch reported, the fire broke out just before 8 a.m. on a chilly December morning in a home at 160 Morningside Avenue in North Middletown.

Clancy told firefighters he was putting his recycling out to the curb at 7:50 a.m. that morning when he noticed heavy, dark-colored smoke coming from his neighbor's house.

He said he knew the older man who lived there, Richard Borucki, 74, had just returned from the hospital and used a walker to help get around.

He knew he needed to act right away, he would later recall. Without hesitation, Clancy entered the front door of Borucki's home and was immediately choked by smoke. Struggling to breathe, he made his way to the back of the house, where he located Borucki, who was fast asleep in a rear bedroom.

Clancy dragged the 74-year-old disabled man to safety from a rear side door. Once Borucki was safe outside, Clancy even went back into the smoke-filled building to retrieve the man's walker.

"I saw Rob fearlessly run into the house to save Rich," said neighbor Michelle Kendrick. "I had gone out to start my car to take my granddaughter to school when I (saw) smoke. I ran over the same time Rob did while another neighbor told us she just called 911. He just went in."

"Mr. Robert Clancy demonstrated a heroic act of kindness under extreme conditions that led to a positive ending," said the Middletown Fire Dept. in a statement. "Chief Stephen Schweizer wishes to recognize his efforts and will forward the same to the mayor and council."

The man he saved, Borucki, would later say that had it not been for Clancy's actions, he might not be alive.

Borucki also told fire crews that because he had only recently been released from the hospital following a year-long stay, the were no functioning smoke alarms in his home.

"We wholeheartedly congratulate Mr. Clancy on his swift and selfless heroic actions and for inspiring fellow citizens to go above and beyond to help others," said Middletown Twp. in a statement.

Initial Patch report: Middletown Man Saves Neighbor, 74, From Burning Home