CONCORD, N.Y. (WKBW) — Simon Lissner died on Monday while saving his family from a house fire in the Town of Concord. His final words, alerting his family of the emergency, ensured they all made it outside safely.
Simon, his wife Nancy, their daughter Madison and Madison's boyfriend Evan were all home when the fire broke out early Monday morning on Tarn Trail.
Nancy, Madison and Evan all made it out safely. Nancy said that Evan had to jump to safety out of a second-story window.
However, Simon never made it outside and was killed in the blaze.
WATCH: ‘Died being a hero’: Concord man dies while rescuing his family from house fire
According to Nancy, the only reason the rest of the family was able to make it out alive was thanks to Simon waking everybody up.
“He died being a hero. I mean, if it wasn't for him screaming and hollering, ‘Fire, fire, get out of the house!’ You know what, we probably wouldn't be here today,” Nancy said.
Nancy tells me her husband was a natural born servant, serving as a firefighter in his youth, working in the Navy, working in the Air Force and later as a volunteer with the ski patrol at Kissing Bridge, and she believes that serving others as his final actions fits his character.
Nancy: “The man has helped everyone since forever.”
Q: “What did he do to make sure that you guys were out and safe?”
Nancy: “He was literally just screaming and hollering to get us up.”
Q: “What kind of goes through your head whenever you think of all Simon did to make sure that you, your daughter and Evan made it out safe?”
Nancy: “In one sense, it makes me feel awesome that he was a hero and did this, and then in another part, I’m like, ‘Why can't you be here with us?’ It’s just, I just don't think it's fair. It took one of us. Either all of us should have made it out, or deep down, I feel like we should have all been gone, but Simon's the guy that wants to help people, and so in his last minute, I honestly believe he died doing what he loved to do.”
Q: “What do you think Simon's thinking now that you guys are obviously still here and people around the community are rushing to help?”
Nancy: “I'm sure he's very happy and like I tell my daughter, she’s like, ‘I want Dad.’ I said, ‘You know what, Dad's here. He's looking down on us. He's watching everything. He's going to still make sure we’re all okay. He's gonna be with us no matter what.'”
The Lissners also lost three of their four dogs and two of their three cats in the fire. They escaped with only their phones, which they used to call 911, and the clothes on their backs.
A GoFundMe for the Lissner family is up and running. You can find a link to help here.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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