13 year old boy honored with Medal of Valor

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - It was a hero's welcome Wednesday night for a 13 year boy, whose quick thinking saved nine lives from a fire last year.

Demetrious Faust rounded up his family and neighbors when their two-unit Forest Park home caught fire .

He's now the youngest person to ever receive the Lt. Frank J. Murphy Medal of Valor.

The Springfield Veterans Committee reserves that honor for a person who risks their own life to save others.

Demetrious told 22News he was overwhelmed by being chosen by veterans. “It's amazing to see all of them and know that there’s people fighting for our country. It's good. ”

In 1977, Demetrious' father, Lee, was the only survivor of a fire that killed his two sisters and a brother on Orleans Court.

Demetrious is named after the brother who died.