A newlywed couple was enjoying their long-anticipated honeymoon in Spain when they came upon a burning building. Without thinking, they sprung into action, only to learn the building was full of babies needing to be rescued.
Honeymooners Rescue 20 Babies and Return as Newlywed Heroes
David Squillante and Doran Smith of Rhode Island were married around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic; so they decided to postpone their honeymoon for two years.
The plan was to go to Barcelona, Spain for their honeymoon once the pandemic was over, and it’s a blessing from God that they did.
The couple went to Barcelona simply as newlyweds, but they returned as heroes.
David’s alma Mater, Johnson & Wales University, proudly shared their story on Facebook:
According to David, “eating delicious food,” and “relaxing” were the main plans for their Barcelona honeymoon. They were also planning to do a lot of sight-seeing while in Spain.
But saving a bunch of babies from a burning building?
“Hadn’t really pictured that happening,” Doran told NBC News in an interview you can watch here:
The couple says they were planning to take a walking tour that afternoon when they saw the burning building. It was said to have been caused by an electrical issue.
“I saw a flame coming out of the doorway, next to the door that these women had come out of,” said Doran.
“There’s a fire,” Doran recalled saying to David. “And immediately Dave dropped his backpack and ran across the street into the building.”
From David’s perspective, “Instinct took over,” explaining that he didn’t even think about it; he just went into the building and tried to help how he could.
According to the couple, the women they saw were very distraught, explaining what was happening.
David told NBC News that once he entered the building, he realized there were babies in there.
“I just ran in and saw a bunch of babies,” David said. Continuing on, he told reports that the babies were “sleeping and kind of like screaming.”
David immediately took action, pulling a crib that had babies in it out the door. Doran jumped in, too, along with others. The honeymooners rescued nearly 20 babies.
Along with others who responded to the fire, the couple said they worked together to save the children. “Dave would hand me a baby, I would hand it to someone else,” recalled Doran. “I ended up holding one across the street, and we ended up handing one to a guy with a broken arm.”
In the end, the honeymooners rescued all the babies who were in that burning building. David said the babies “were ranging in age from newborns to 3 years old.”
Although the couple does not speak Spanish, they didn’t let that stop them from jumping in to help.
“In the moment everyone just wanted to help,” Explained David to reporters. “Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we knew everyone was there to help these babies.”
Eventually emergency workers and firefighters arrived and put out the fire.
Once everything was under control, the couple continued on to their walking tour. Apparently, that the fact that the honeymooners rescued 20 babies didn’t sink in immediately.
David explained, later they said to themselves, “We were like, remember that time we just ran into a fire and like saved a bunch of babies?”
While David has many family members who are firefighters, the whole incident doesn’t exactly seem real to him.
“It doesn’t feel real at all. Every time I tell…I’m like, ‘did that really happen?’” explained David. “It felt like a movie scene. But we were happy to be in the right place at the right time.”
Despite their heroic act where the honeymooners rescue a bunch of babies, they remain humble and look at it as, “We have a cool story to tell our kids,” David told NBC News.
Doran, reassured by her new husband’s act of heroism, said, “I never have to worry if we’re in an emergency, he’s gonna step up and take care of the situation.”
Wondering how others responded to this act of heroism in a coincidental encounter? Click on.