Heroes: Couple From Englewood, Teaneck Save Saddle Brook Residents From Fire

Doorbells ringing in the middle of the night startled sleeping residents of a Saddle Brook neighborhood.

Matthew Blackwell, Donnae Cushnie
Photo Credit: *Michael Sarao*

06/13/2020 8:08 p.m.

What the sleepy-eyed homeowners found at 1:30 a.m. Saturday were two good Samaritans who'd been driving by and saw some trees on fire.

Matthew Blackwell of Teaneck and Donnae Cushnie of Englewood, both 24, first dialed 911, then made sure residents in the Midland Avenue townhouse community were aware of the danger.

Firefighters doused the flames before they could spread to the homes.

"We were all in bed," resident Michael Sarao said. "If they hadn't seen it, or stopped, it could have done so much more damage. They saved me and my neighbors from what could have been a real tragedy.

"These are two great people, extremely polite and genuinely nice," Sarao said. "They're heroes in our book."

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