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Close call with a fire.

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tomshobby

tomshobby

Yoda
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Our family had a real close call early this morning. My brothers kids were sharing a house with a couple of friends. About 2:30 this morning my nephew happened to wake up and found the house on fire. He pounded on my nieces door and went upstairs to wake the other two.

When they got outside they noticed that my niece hadn't got out. Turned out she had not even woke up. They could not get back in and the only window was about ten feet from the ground. My nephew stood on his friends shoulders and reached up and broke the window with his fists. He then crawled in and woke his sister. She looked out and got scared to jump and ran over and opened the bedroom door. The flames blew into the room. My nephew again got her to look out the window and when she hesitated to jump he reached down and grabbed her ankles and flipped her out. He then climbed out while the flames were shooting out the window.

Everybody escaped and are fine. My niece and nephew have singed hair and she has a few minor burns.

The fire chief said they were very lucky. First was that my nephew even woke up, usually asphyxiation prevents that. The second thing was that he was very brave to save his sister.

The house and everything in it is a total loss.

All I can say is Thank God!
 
Houses and stuff can be replaced. Family can't. Thank God that all are alive.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]The house and everything in it is a total loss.[/QUOTE]

God was watching over her/them. A total loss would have been losing a life. Glad to hear that this was a better than usual ending and all are safe.
 
Reminds me to change the batteries in the smoke alarm. I do so every year at the Time Change.

I didn't do it this year.
 
Thanks for the good wishes. We are all very grateful for the results. Shirley and I helped recover items after a fire some years ago. I have never been so demoralized and can't imagine how the victim felt. This being a total loss of property might be easier to recover from.

Yes, check the batteries. And the insurance.
 
Tom;

Very glad to hear a good ending to this.
Also glad no serious injuries.

God was with them.

Dave :grouphug:
 
And in no small measure the quick thinking and reactions of the nephew!!! Good for HIM!!!
 
That is a special young man...... He is destined for great things. Those with the ability to keep a clear head, combined with the courage to act have a unique gift.

That is from the perspective of an old first-responder.
 
Now that's a story! Glad to hear everyone is basically okay -- and an extra star for that young man for not giving up.
 
I am so glad that everyone got out okay. It is a testament to your nephews training that he was able to get everyone out and then rescue his sister as well. Although things have been lost, the important things, lives, were saved. Your nephew is a hero!
 
Thanks for all the great comments. I have to say we are very proud of this young man. He is 21 years old and in our minds too, a hero!

I just got off the phone with my brother. He told me that my nephew actually had to put out the fire in my nieces hair and clothes. It was that close to a much different outcome.
 
Tom - really glad to hear the *good* part of the news.

Heroes are everyday people, right?

Tom
 
Thank goodness all made it out safely.

rick_ingram said:
Reminds me to change the batteries in the smoke alarm. I do so every year at the Time Change.

I didn't do it this year.
Click to expand...

:iagree: Something I had been negligent on myself, but I remembered to do it this time change. Doesn't hurt to get a match or candle and see if it really does respond to smoke.
 
I'm glad everyone made it out OK. Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are important. My biggest fear is a garage fire, I always wait 15-30 minutes after welding / hot work before I leave or go inside the house to make sure I didn't get something smoldering.
 
Very glad to hear all were OK. That young man *is* a hero!

When my older daughter graduated from UMass 11 years ago, she stayed in Boston that summer to work. She and a group of her girlfriends rented the upper part of an old, decrepid building near MIT.
She's normally a heavy sleeper but one night she woke up to a "funny noise". It was electrical wires shorting out and burning. She ran around to her friends and woke them all up and made sure they were all out.
She called me at 3 AM in the morning from a phone booth wearing only her pajamas. Firefighters brought the girls to a shelter right after that.
We ran up right away from NJ and got her within hours.
The building burned to the ground.
 
As part of our remodeling effort, all new hard wired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors all over the house and wired into the alarm system.

Several in the garage and in the furnace areas, including temperature monitors.
 
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