89Julio DeLeon was honored at a Piqua city hall meeting on the night of Tuesday, December 9th, for pulling a man out of a burning home on November 18th, just before 3pm.

On November 18th, a house on Covington Ave. in Piqua exploded and collapsed shortly after. Despite the danger of the blaze, DeLeon left his girlfriend and 17 month old son to see if anyone needed help. When he arrived at the blaze, he heard Brian Markin calling out for help inside. DeLeon ran inside and got Markin out of the blaze.

According to reporting by WDTN, Kathy Hostetter, the president of Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce, said that the fire department reported that the blaze was not survivable when they arrived, meaning that if DeLeon had not saved Markin when he did, we would not have survived. “He’s very honorable,” said Hostetter. “He would rather be the person in the background, not getting the accolades, but we couldn’t let that happen tonight at all. We needed something to make him realize he really is the hero.” (Southall, Reidford, Dec. 9th).

According to WDTN, DeLeon said “It’s overwhelming, but I feel loved.. Getting the award feels pretty good, so I’m excited for it. It’s a little bit overwhelming, but it feels good.” (Southall, Reidford, Dec. 9th).

The fire and explosion is still under investigation by the state fire marshal. It is believed that a natural gas leak was ignited, causing the explosion. Investigators are currently attempting to find the reason for ignition.