'Immensely Good' Hero's Sacrifice In Fire May Be Honored With Bronx Street Renaming
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - It's been nearly three months since a fire claimed the life of 19-year-old Lucas Silverio Mendoza, but for his family, it still feels like yesterday.
"His heart was bigger than the size of Jupiter," said cousin Jesse Alvarez. "Immensely good person, overall good person."
That good was on full display when a fire broke out in his Belmont apartment building at 725 Garden Street in the Bronx, reports Aundrea Cline-Thomas.
Silverio Mendoza hopped out of the shower with just a towel. His cousin, Jeury Tineo Mendoza and grandmother evacuated from their apartment on the 15th floor.
When Silverio Mendoza heard the cries of a 3-year-old girl, the teenager went to rescue the toddler.
Both suffered severe burns and days later succumb to their injuries.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss him, or that I don't think of him and what could've been," said Mendoza.
On Friday, council member Ritchie Torres announced plans to rename Grote Street to Lucas Silverio Mendoza Way at the intersection of Crotona Avenue, a stones' throw from the families old apartment building.
"For Lucas, the cry of a 3-year-old girl was a call to action," said Torres. "A time for compassion and courage, even if it meant sacrificing his own life."
The void for Silverio Mendoza's family may never be filled but they find solace in a street name.
MORE: More Than A Dozen Hurt, Including 4-Year-Old Child, In Bronx High-Rise Fire
"Not all heroes wear capes and masks," said Jesse Alvarez. "There are all different types of heroes in this world. He was one of those heroes."
For Silverio Mendoza's cousin, it is part of his newfound mission to keep the teenager's legacy alive.
Silverio-Mendoza was a page at the public library. He was set to graduate in December from Bronx Community College and had dreams of becoming a physical therapist.
