The Outsiders
YA Realistic Fiction
Speak
1967
Trade Paperback
180
Church Fire Leaves two Heroes in Critical Condition
By Grant Stowell, The Tulsa Tether
July 28th, 1959
Earlier this afternoon, Saturday July 29th there was a church fire just outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was an old church, and the cause of the fire remains unknown. Firefighters were quick to the scene, but not quick enough to help kids stuck in the fire. Luckily two young men were there to help.
When our crew got to the scenes the two boys supposedly named Ponyboy and Johnny were being rushed to the hospital. After talking to witnesses we were told that the boys rushed into the flames to help kids who were stuck in the building. “They just ran right on in and I thought they were fools running into that mess of flames.” Exclaimed Harris Tubnick, who 
was on the scene. Now we do not know the reason for the boys running in for the kids. They were not related or connected to the kids in any way.
“I came out of my house because I had smelled some smoke. Now I was just thinking that it was some old man burning his trash. When I stepped out the door I about had myself a heart attack, the whole church was blown in flames. All of a sudden as pedestrians were congregating around the fire, two nincompoops just hurdle into the blaze. I wasn’t the only one thinking that they were fools because some big dude was yelling his head off at the kids. I think he was sayin something like ‘“the kids don’t matter’ and ‘get back here Pony,’” stated Al Jones who lives by the church. We later learned that the man screaming was Dallas, who is a friend of the boys who ran into the flames.
While talking to other witnesses we learned that there were six kids in the fire. Although we still do not know the motivation behind the boys running into the fire, we do know that all the kids are safe. Unfortunately, we learned that the both of the boys are in poor condition.
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