David Squillante and Doran Smith, a couple from Rhode Island, had anticipated celebrating their commitment to spending the rest of their lives together during their honeymoon.
They never expected that during their long-awaited honeymoon, they would have to rescue people from a perilous situation.
While on a leisurely afternoon walking tour in Barcelona, the couple was planning to enjoy the sights.
Due to the pandemic, the couple postponed their honeymoon for two years and celebrated their wedding party a year after they had tied the knot.
It was then that they stumbled upon a building that was on fire.
Amid the commotion, people were shouting and pointing towards the balcony.
“I saw a flame coming out of the doorway, next to the door that these women had come out of,” Smith told Turn to 10. “So, I said ‘Oh my God there’s a fire.’”
The women outside the building were visibly distressed and provided an explanation of the situation.
“Instinct took over,” Squillante said.
Without hesitation, Squillante rushed inside, hoping to extinguish the fire quickly and offer assistance in any way possible.
The newlywed couple discovered 15 to 20 sleeping babies in their cribs.
“I just noticed that there were a bunch of babies sleeping in cots,” Squillante told WPRI. “They were ranging in age from newborns to 3 years old.”
They swiftly gathered the infants and placed them in a rolling crib, which they used to transport the babies out of the building.
Several other people joined in to assist in rescuing the children and bringing them to safety in a room that was quickly filling up with smoke.
“Dave would hand me a baby, I would hand it to someone else,” Smith said. “I ended up holding one across the street, and we ended up hanging one to a guy with a broken arm.”
It is suspected that the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction.
Smith mentioned that despite the language barrier, they shared a “universal language” – the innate desire to save as many lives as possible.
“It was just … in the moment everyone just wanted to help,” Smith said. “Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we knew everyone was there to help these babies.”
The fire department and other emergency responders eventually arrived at the scene to manage the situation.
After the incident, the couple resumed their sightseeing and continued with their honeymoon as if nothing had happened.
“It doesn’t feel real at all,” Squillante said. “Every time I tell [the story], I’m like, ‘did that really happen?’ It felt like a movie scene. But we were happy to be in the right place at the right time.”
The newlyweds described their honeymoon as a memorable experience that they would cherish for a long time. Additionally, their story gained widespread attention and was covered by various news outlets.