Canton, Ohio Residents Honored with VITA(TM) Wireless Samaritan Award

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Jul 24, 2012, 11:53 ET

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- David Beckley, Jr. and Tyler Creswell, both 13 years old, were honored by The Wireless Foundation and CTIA-The Wireless Association® with a VITA™ Wireless Samaritan Award at the 18th Annual Achievement Awards dinner July 23 for helping to save a couple from a burning house. The Canton, Ohio teens were waiting for their school bus when they noticed a house fire, used a cellphone to call 911 and assisted two residents to safety.

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While waiting one morning at their school bus stop, Beckley and Creswell saw flames from a neighbor's porch that began to engulf the house. Without hesitation, Beckley used his cellphone to call 911. The boys rushed to the back door of the house and tried to break the glass to unlock the door, but failed. That's when they began kicking the back door until the residents emerged. As firefighters were arriving, the boys ran back to their bus stop and caught their bus in time for school.

"By the time some adults were getting up for work, David and Tyler had saved two people from a fire. Their fast thinking and decisive action, along with a cellphone, exemplifies the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award. The fact that they caught their school bus and went to class that day make them even more impressive young men," said Steve Largent, President of The Wireless Foundation and President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association.

VITA Wireless Samaritan Awards are presented annually to recipients who put safety first and use wireless to help others in need. With more than 400,000 wireless phone calls made to 911 every day, the awards also reinforce the crucial role wireless technology plays in emergencies. The Wireless Foundation and CTIA-The Wireless Association selected Beckley and Creswell and seven other VITA Wireless Samaritan Award recipients from across the nation for their use of wireless technology to save lives, stop crime and help in other emergency situations.

CTIA-The Wireless Foundation (www.wirelessfoundation.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to developing and supporting initiatives that use wireless technology to help American communities. The Foundation's innovative programs benefit consumers in areas such as education, healthcare, safety and the environment. As part of its Annual Achievement Awards, the Foundation recognizes VITA™ Wireless Samaritans and honors the best of our nation's leadership, its youth and its scholars. The Foundation was formed by CTIA-The Wireless Association® member companies in 1991.

SOURCE CTIA-The Wireless Foundation