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Long Island Teens Hailed As Heroes After Saving Neighbors From Fire

BAYPORT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Two teenagers on Long Island were being hailed as heroes after saving a neighboring family from a fire.

Susan Stenzinger says there aren't enough hugs she could give and not enough ways she could express her gratitude for her neighbors Robby and Billy Zoller, ages 16 and 17.

"They made a difference, the difference was me and my children," Stenzinger told CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis. "The next morning I realized it would be a whole different day because, you know, it was my entire family, everything I love."

She says the brothers from Bayport are her heroes.

Robby woke up after 1 a.m. Friday and saw a fire on Stenzinger's back deck from his bedroom window. He didn't waste a second.

"I just saw this section, flames as tall as the house," he said. "Once I realized how big the flames were that's when I realized it wasn't a bonfire."

Billy says he was out cold when his brother woke him up.

"In bed, completely out cold and he turned the lights on, shook me, and said 'I think Suzie's house is on fire'," he said. "The first think I said was 'we have to get over there'."

They ran over to the home and started banging on the door, but Stenzinger, her boyfriend, and two kids were sleeping.

"They were like 'it's Robby and Billy, there's a fire get out of the house', and that's when it became real," Stenzinger said.

The fire was just minutes away from entering the home and Susan says the scary part is her son's room was so close to where it happened.

"I mean they say they're not heroes, how do they say they're not heroes? It was two more minutes and this could have been a different story," she said.

Stenzinger believes the fire originated from the barbecue, which they were using the night before. The Bayport Fire Department ultimately kept the flames from getting inside the home.

"The bottom line is that Robby waking up at two in the morning changed my life forever, changed my kids' life forever," Stenzinger said. "I know you do news on all the tragedies, this didn't end that way."

The teens say the fire department are the real heroes, and the two of them were just being good neighbors. Heroic or not, the Town of Islip is planning to recognize them for their deeds.

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