- February 18, 2026
Austin Blondin tries on a firefighter's uniform. Photo courtesy of OBFD/Pauline Dulang
The fire in the Blondin family home in Ormond Beach was caused by the fireplace. Firefighters with Engine 92 were first on the scene. Courtesy photo
Ormond Beach Fire Department Capt. Garrett Fiske. Austin Blondin, firefighter Benjamin Loyd and Driver Engineer Robert Zalewski. Photo courtesy of OBFD/Pauline Dulang
Firefighter Benjamin Loyd hugs Austin Blondin. Photo courtesy of OBFD/Pauline Dulang
OBFD Capt. Garrett Fiske helps Austin Blondin try on a firefighter's uniform. Photo courtesy of OBFD/Pauline Dulang
Austin Blondin wears a firefighter's uniform as Driver Engineer Robert Zalewski, firefighter Benjamin Loyd and Capt. Garrett Fiske look on. Photo courtesy of OBFD/Pauline Dulang
Ormond Beach Fire Department firefighter Benjamin Loyd, Capt. Garrett Fiske, Austin Blondin and Driver Engineer Robert Zalewski. Photo courtesy of OBFD/Pauline Dulang
Ormond Beach Fire Department firefighter Benjamin Loyd, Capt. Garrett Fiske, Austin Blondin, Driver Engineer Robert Zalewski and Austin's kindergarten class. Photo courtesy of OBFD/Pauline Dulang
On Feb. 2, 6-year-old Austin Blondin woke up around 2:20 a.m.
He had a sore throat that was bothering him, so the Ormond Beach boy woke up his mother and asked for water. His mom always keeps water next to her bed, and as she was tending to him, she looked around and realized there was smoke in her bedroom.
Renae Blondin jumped out of bed and checked the fireplace in her home. Nothing seemed wrong at first, but then she noticed an outlet above the mantel had melted, leaving behind a hole in the wall.
"I could just see through that hole the fire raging inside of the chimney," Renae recalled.
Austin took action. He ran and woke his older brother and helped his mom wake his father. The family was able to rush out of the house for safety and called 911 for help.
The Ormond Beach Fire Department responded, and firefighters were able to rescue the family's three large dogs, all weighing over 75 pounds.
"They were incredible that night," Renae said. "They really, truly were."
OBFD was also impressed with Austin, who is a kindergartner at Ormond Beach Elementary. On Tuesday, Feb. 10, firefighters visited OBE to recognize Austin with the department's Life Saving Award for his bravery and quick thinking during the fire.
"His awareness and calm response helped prevent what could have become a far more serious incident," OBFD wrote in a post on Facebook announcing the award.
Firefighters with Engine 92 — the ones who were first to respond to the fire on Feb. 2 — recognized Austin in front of his class.
Renae said seeing the award recognition was incredible. Austin has been telling everyone that he is "Facebook famous" — and a hero. OBFD, she said, turned an experience that was one of the worst days of the family's life into a memory Austin is proud of.
"He is now excited to tell everybody how he saved his family and got an award for it," Renae said. "So they really took something very negative and turned it into a huge positive for him."
During OBFD's visit, Austin got a chance to sit in the captain's seat inside the firetruck and try on a firefighter's uniform.
"He said, 'Mommy, I couldn't walk because it was so heavy,'" Renae recalled. "After we left there, I took him for a walk and he was running around, telling everybody, 'This was the best day ever in my whole life.'"
When asked how it felt to be able to save his family during the fire, Austin said it felt "very, very good."
When OBE Principal Shannon Hay asked him if there was anything he was upset he lost in the fire, Austin told her no — that his family made it out, their dogs made it out, and everything else, he said, can be replaced.
Austin used to want to be a police officer. Now he wants to be a firefighter.
Because, it's "cool," Austin said.
The fire in the Blondin family home was caused by the fireplace; the wood for the mantle had been built directly on top of its fire box. Though the fire did spread through the entire attic, the family is hopeful that they will be able to rebuild their home.
The family has received a lot of support from the community, Renae said, including from OBE and Hinson Middle Schooll, where her oldest son attends. The schools helped them with clothing.
"I feel like we're blessed," she said. "We lost everything, yet I never felt more blessed in my life."
The family is currently in a temporary rental, closer to the beach than their home. Renae said it'll be a good place for her children to heal from the experience. She and her husband told them they're going to vacation for one year at a beach house.
They recently got new beds. That was an incredible feeling, Renae said.
"At 2 o'clock in the morning when I woke up and got out of bed, the last thought in my mind was that I'd never get to go back in," she said. "Just being able to have beds again feels amazing and a place to call home."
What OBFD did for their family, Renae said, is "unexplainable."
"They saved our lives and they helped save the lives of my dogs, and then to go out of their way to make sure that Austin knew how special and heroic he really way — it's indescribable," she said.
