“We owe her the moon and the stars,” Denise Brennan said of Ashlyn Perrone (middle), who put out a fire on Oct. 10 that burned the outside of Denise and Dan Brennan’s home.
A strong burning smell got Ashlyn Perrone checking around her home on Country Squire Lane.
It was the morning of Oct. 10. No one was home.
“She initially thought our house was on fire,” shared her father, Kevin Poznek.
Her instinct took her outside and that’s when she saw flames starting in the large bags of sawdust that were near the garage of her neighbor’s home. She called her father, then 911, whose dispatcher told her not to do anything.
The neighbors – Dan and Denise Brennan – were having their hardwood floors redone. They were not home at the time.
“We owe her the moon and the stars,” Denise said. “She saved our house.”
The Brennans have lived in Marlton for 25 years. Nine years ago, Ashlyn and her family moved in.
“We have become great friends,” Poznek said.
When Perrone saw the flames, she took the garden hose and put out the fire. It may sound simple – and it only took minutes – but the amount of sawdust and wood, as well as flammable materials in the garage, like propane tanks, fertilizer and gas could have led to a catastrophe.
“We got really, really lucky,” Poznek acknowledged, noting his daughter’s gut feeling took her outside that day.
And Ashlyn, a Cherokee High School graduate who does not have any first responder experience, was at the right place at the right time.
“She’s my hero,” Denise insisted.
The Evesham police and fire departments responded to the scene. Fire officials said the blaze may have been a spontaneous combustion, according to Poznek.
Sawdust and wood, as well as flammable materials in the Brennans’ garage, fed the flames.
