Haggard and heartbroken, David Luptak stared red-eyed at the blackened bones of his neighbors' home.
He hadn't slept or shaved and was struggling with the news that a 7-year-old child he pulled from an inferno early Thursday had died in the burn unit at Lehigh Valley Medical Center. Her mother, whom he also rescued, remained in critical condition at the Allentown hospital on Friday.
News accounts portrayed Mr. Luptak as a hero, but he recoiled at the word.
"There is no hero here - just horror, then tragedy and now sadness," he said. "My heart is broken, and I feel in every way for this family."
Trista Bruch was a happy girl who loved cats and had a boundless imagination, teachers, staff and children at Jefferson Elementary School said Friday as they confronted the death of the joyful first-grader.
Grief counselors were available, said Principal Judy Castrogiovanni, who knew Trista well. Her son was a classmate. The school community offers their thoughts and prayers to the family, she said.
Trista was creative and imaginative. She would make her own "books," which she shared with her teachers and classmates. She was fascinated by cats and kittens and would often imagine she was a cat when she played.
"Her time here, she shared smiles, laughs and hugs," Ms. Castrogiovanni said. "She was always very happy and had a love of life."
The blaze at 18 Collins Ave., Jefferson Twp., was ruled accidental.
Roused from sleep by Trista's 14-year-old brother, Brandon Bruch, pounding at their door just after midnight Thursday morning, Mr. Luptak and his daughter Felicia rushed to the burning home. Mr. Luptak pulled an unconscious Trista out of the home by her leg, and then retrieved her mother, Brenda. Trista's father, Michael Bruch, was at work when the fire struck.
When word came late Thursday that Trista had died, Mr. Luptak said he was "devastated."
"I don't even begin to know what to say," he said.
As word of the tragedy spread, strangers began knocking on Mr. Luptak's door, some offering money and asking him to pass it along to the Bruchs when they return.
"I don't know what they can come back to," he said. "Their home is a pile of sticks, and their family will never be the same."
One man handed him $50 and said, "God bless you."
"I didn't know the guy from a can of paint," Mr. Luptak said, but he was moved by the gesture. He keeps the donations in an envelope in case more donors come, but expressed hope that a coordinated community effort would be put together.
Late Friday, his hope was realized. Donations for the Bruch family can be made at any PennStar Bank location, into an account opened by the Jefferson Twp. Volunteer Fire Company.
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com