WATSONVILLE—Edwin Rodriguez and Adrian Maldonado were hanging out with friends in their neighborhood on Arista Court one Wednesday afternoon when they saw a large column of smoke rising into the air nearby.
The boys assumed at first it was a campfire, which wouldn’t be unusual. Several homeless people camp in the wooded area along Corralitos Creek. But when the smoke turned black, they knew there was trouble.
The boys and several of their friends ran the two blocks, and then down a steep embankment, to get to the scene.
That’s where they saw a tent engulfed in flames, and a man trying to get his possessions out.
Edwin, 12, and Adrian, 11, pulled the man out of the tent, and then removed several large propane cylinders.
Both said they gave little thought to their safety while helping the man.
“I felt good, even though I was ruining my clothes,” Edwin said.
When they talked to the man afterward, they learned he was abandoned by his parents and suffered from drug addiction.
“We were almost crying,” Adrian said.
Both boys said they hope to have careers in law enforcement.
“I had this dream since I was little that I wanted to become a cop,” Edwin said.
Adrian agreed.
“All the stuff they do is pretty cool,” he said.
Adrian’s mother Nancy Diaz had praise for both of the boys.
“They are very humble and very caring,” she said. “They didn’t even think about the danger. They just wanted to help him.”
