A family helped save the lives of their neighbors, when a truck on Quincy Drive caught fire within feet of several stored oxygen tanks.

The Delaney family helped put out the Jan. 11 fire and alert their neighbors.

Because of his help, Cody Delaney, 14, a member of the Manchester West High School ROTC, will receive one of the Navy corp’s highest awards.

“At 7 a.m. every morning, I take my son to school -- he’s in the ninth grade. And on Thursday, we were walking down the driveway and a purple car pulls up and rolls down the window. The guy yells to us, ‘Hey, how long’s that truck been on fire,’” said David Delaney.

Next door, at 17 Quincy Drive, a blue Ford F350’s front end was engulfed in flames.

“Me and my dad looked at each other like, ‘What did he say?’” Cody said.

David said he ran back inside, yelling for his wife, Michelle, to call 911.

“I thought he was yelling at me because I was running late,” Michelle said.

David and Cody grabbed a fire extinguisher and jumped the fence into their neighbor’s yard. The extinguisher ran out, and Cody ran for one in their Hummer SUV. That extinguisher ran out, also, he said.

“I wasn’t really scared at all. It was an adrenaline rush. It was exciting,” Cody said.

David ran to the front door to wake up the neighbors. Inside were Jen Croteau, her brotherin- law Chris Croteau and his girlfriend Candice Oulette. Jen said her 2-year-old handicapped nephew, Cameron Croteau, was asleep.

Jen had been getting ready to go to work and was surprised when she answered the door. David told her what was happening.

“I would have gone out 20 minutes later, and it would have been too late,” she said. “The flames were maybe 4 feet high, and it was to the point that when I looked to the side, I thought that the garage was on fire.”

Cameron needs oxygen, which Jen Croteau said is kept in the garage near where the fire occured. If the fire had spread to the house, there could have been an explosion, she said. But, because of the Delaneys’ help, the fire didn’t make it to the garage.

Michelle came over and helped get Cameron out of the house, and had her daughter, Kelly, 12, watch the boy in the Delaney house, she said.

Then, the fire department arrived, David said.

“God bless those guys for being quick,” he said.

For his efforts, Cody is being awarded the Meritorious Achievement Ribbon from the Navy ROTC at Manchester High School West. It is only awarded to those who have saved someone’s life, he said.

Jen said the fire probably started inside the engine of the diesel truck, which needs to be plugged into an extension cord when it gets too cold at night. “The whole front end of the truck is gone,” she said.