Hero Neighbor Saves Children By Catching Them From Burning Home

January 12, 2026

A mother in Middle River, Maryland is calling her neighbor a hero after his quick thinking helped save her family from a devastating house fire.

Steven Angelini | WBAL TV / Inside Edition

Ashley Gubernat was asleep inside her home when the fire alarm suddenly went off. When she woke up, she saw flames already burning on the first floor. With smoke quickly filling the house, she rushed to get her two young sons to safety.

Ashley grabbed her younger son from his bedroom and carried him to the front window on the second floor. As smoke poured in, she could hear her older son screaming for help outside his room, banging on the side of the house in panic.

"My oldest son was screaming, 'Help me, help me.' Banging on the side of the house," Gubernat said.

That’s when neighbor Steven Angelini heard the commotion and ran toward the burning home. Seeing Ashley at the window, he immediately positioned himself below and told her to drop the kids.

"He stood under me and he kept saying, 'Drop them Ash, I got them. Drop them, I'm going to catch them. I'm going to catch them, just drop them,'" Gubernat said.

Steven safely caught both children, and within moments, other neighbors arrived with a ladder so Ashley could climb down to safety as well.

No one was seriously hurt, and Ashley later called Steven a hero, also thanking the neighbors who ran in to help during the chaos. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.