Robert Kidd has been awarded a bravery medal for trying to save a woman's life in a house fire at Pelican.
Mr Kidd was among 46 people to be awarded Australian bravery decorations on Tuesday night by Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
They honour those who put themselves in danger to protect the lives or property of others.
"I am delighted that these exceptional people will forever know they have earned the gratitude of every Australian," Ms Mostyn said.
Mr Kidd received his medal for his efforts to save neighbour Pamela Wilds in a house fire in Karog Street on October 2, 2016.
The incident happened at about 11pm - on the night of the NRL grand final.
"He ran to his neighbour's house and tried to open the front door but it was locked, so he banged on the front door," a Governor-General's statement said.
"Two other neighbours arrived and tried to kick in the door."
Mr Kidd jumped over the fence into the backyard.
He saw that one of the bedroom windows was cracked, so he picked up a nearby plank, knocked out the glass and threw a nearby bucket of water through the window.
He used a wheelie bin to climb through the window and into the house.
"He moved through the house in thick black smoke towards the front door, which he unlocked, allowing others who had been alerted to the situation to enter the house."
Mr Kidd crawled towards the bedroom through the smoke and intense heat, searching for Mrs Wilds.
"He passed out from smoke inhalation. The others entered the house and dragged Mr Kidd out."
Emergency services arrived shortly afterwards and treated Mr Kidd. He was taken to John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition with heat damage to his airway.
Fire crews pulled Mrs Wilds, 63, from the burning weatherboard home, but she died in hospital two days after the incident.
The then Lake Macquarie acting duty officer Inspector Matt Hemsworth said "putting your life in danger in an effort to save someone else is extremely heroic".
Mr Kidd, 18 at the time, was unavailable for comment on his bravery award.
Mrs Wilds' sister, Maureen Lazzaro, told the Newcastle Herald in 2016 that Mr Kidd deserved "a gold medal" for his efforts.
She said her sister had thought of him as "another son".
"Pamela talked a lot about him, what a wonderful boy he was," she said.
Mrs Wilds grew up in western NSW and trained as a nurse, before marrying and having two children.
After the fire, Mr Kidd was "very upset and worried" that he hadn't been able to save her.
He started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the Wilds family "through this very hard time".
"It is with deep sadness and shock that the Wilds family lost a mother, grandmother and companion to many others," he wrote.
"Pamela had many more years to live, but sadly it was cut short by a fire. Rest in peace."
