LEBANON — It took more than a year, but Jareth Holmes, 11, finally has his hero badge.

The Pioneer School fifth-grader, a Webelo about to turn Boy Scout, officially received the Boy Scouts of America’s National Medal of Merit during an award ceremony Tuesday at the Lebanon American Legion Hall.

The ceremony was performed under the direction of Lebanon Cub Scout Pack 350 with special guests Mayor Ken Toombs, State Sen. Fred Girod and State Rep. Sherrie Sprenger.

Jareth received the medal and a certificate from the Boy Scouts of America’s National Court of Honor. The medal is given to Scouts who have performed “an outstanding act of service of a rare or exceptional character that reflects uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others.” In 2007 only 60 Medals of Merit were awarded nationwide.

Cubmaster Michael Spasaro said Jareth also receives a special “knot” on a patch for his uniform. The knot is a mark of heroism and the only one available to Cub Scouts, Spasaro said.

“We’re very proud of him,” he said.

Last year, Jareth safely got himself and his two sisters out of their Sherman Street home after a fire in the toaster oven spread to the kitchen cabinets.

It was Feb. 15, shortly after 9 p.m., and Jareth’s mother, Evonne Rousey, had just put a tray of chocolate-chip cookies in the family’s toaster oven.

Jareth’s sisters, Emily and Lidia Novak, then 8 and 7, were already in bed. Jareth was still hanging out in his upstairs room.

Rousey’s roommate was expected home at any moment, so she told Jareth she was headed down the street and went out, forgetting about the cookies.

A few minutes later, Jareth heard the home’s smoke alarm.

“I thought, what the heck? And I could hear the cracking from right in the middle of the stairs, and I knew something was going on,” Jareth remembered in an interview shortly after the fire.

He came downstairs far enough to see the flames and smoke coming from the kitchen, then ran back up to get Emily and Lidia. Emily was already awake and on her way down. Jareth was still dressed, but the girls ran outside in their pajamas, barefoot, and without Emily’s glasses.

To the then-10-year-old, it was just common sense: Fire means get out of the house as fast as you can. He ran to a neighboring business, yelling for help, and the neighbors called 911.

About this same time, Evonne’s boyfriend and his brother had arrived at the home and put out the fire with water from the sink. Firefighters arrived shortly afterward.

The flames incinerated the toaster oven, charred the cabinets above and melted an adjacent microwave.

Throughout the whole thing, Jareth remembers being full of adrenaline, but never scared.

“I hopped up and down about 3,000 times,” he said.