Teen Volunteer Follows Instinct, Helps Family Escape Fire

ROCK HILL, S.C.,None — Joseph Volk of Rock Hill just wants to help people.

"I like the rush of responding quickly to help people who are in need," said Volk, a volunteer firefighter. "I like that sense of pride that you get when you help someone. It's a really good feeling."

Volk, 19, is feeling that rush and sense of pride today after warning a family on Auburndale Lane in Rock Hill early Wednesday that a truck in their driveway was on fire and the fire was threatening their house. Thanks to his knocking on the door, the family was able to exit the house and help put out the fire.

Volk joined the Newport Fire Department as a volunteer in November 2009. He left while attending classes at York Technical College, but he rejoined the department in January.

He is hoping to major in fire science at York Tech and to eventually become a fire investigator.

Being a volunteer firefighter means he's had some experience on a training ground. In March, he helped fight grass fires.

But at about 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, he had the closest experience to a fire threatening someone's health.

The power went out on Twin Lakes Road, near where Volk lives. After noticing his Internet was down, Volk began walking around to make sure utility crews were working.

Walking back from Mount Gallant Road, he smelled something burning.

"It didn't smell like leaves or anything," he said. "I thought it could have been trash. I didn't think much of it at first, but then I thought maybe I should drive around and see."

When he drove by Auburndale Lane, he saw smoke.

"I figured it was just a fire in the backyard that someone had forgot to put out before they went to bed," Volk said. "After looking at it for a while I noticed it was inside the truck, and it caught fire."

Volk instantly switched into volunteer mode: He called 911 and knocked on the door several times until someone answered.

"They were half-awake, and I told them there was a vehicle in the driveway on fire," he said. "I never saw anyone wake up so fast."

He and the family retrieved the garden hose in the yard and put out most of what they could before firefighters arrived.

Donnie Helms, a York County Department of Fire Safety investigator, said the call about a fire came in around 2 a.m. at an Auburndale Lane address. A Chevy S-10 pickup truck had caught on fire in the driveway.

The fire has been ruled accidental, Helms said. It appears that one of the homeowner's sons had been playing with fireworks earlier, one of which had landed in the abandoned truck.

The homeowners could not be reached Wednesday afternoon.

With his career path in mind, Volk can add Wednesday morning's experience to his resume.

"It's cool I got to see firsthand what (fire investigators) did," he said.

Cindy Volk, Joseph's mother, said she is "just amazed."

"A lot of people probably would have kept on going, but he took the time to stop, even though it was a strange hour," she said. "I'm proud of him because he followed his instincts."

Joseph likes to say, "It's good to do someone a good turn," she said.

"He'd want someone to do the same for him," she said.

WSOC