In the early morning of June 29th, Marc Adamberger was just leaving dinner when he saw flames coming from an apartment on Central Avenue in Lancaster. Adamberger, who is a volunteer firefighter, sprang into action and brought five people who were sleeping safely out of the building. On Wednesday, Erie County Legislator Ted Morton honored Adamberger for his heroic actions.
"He was off duty and acted in a way that saved lives" Morton said following the ceremony.
Adamberger didn't have much time to stall. He had to rely on his training.
"I didn't really think about it, I didn't hesitate, I just did it" Adamberger remembered of the night.
Adamberger's heroics began to catch on and Morton was so moved he wanted to honor the volunteer firefighter.
"I am fortunate to be in a position to be able to honor someone like Marc," Morton said, "who has done such a great, great thing."
Even Adamberger's fellow firefighters are proud of the actions that he took to ensure everyone was brought to safety, unharmed.
"Marc is a very dedicated firefighter, he's been a member for a long time," Depew Fire Chief Scott Wegst said, "it was no surprise he jumped into action and did what he did."
Adamberger wasn't expecting this kind of public attention for what he did. Coming into the station, he didn't even know he was being honored.
"I really didn't expect any of this. To me, it was no big deal."
He wanted to stress that he didn't do anything that any other firefighter would have done, and is shying away from the title of "hero".
