Amarillo, Texas

One local family were able to escape their burning home late last night.  They have one of their own to thank that no one was injured. The fire started just before 12 last night and what happened next can only be attributed to an act of heroism.

Local Hero

Bristol, VA

An 11-year-old boy and his 9-year-old sister learned about escaping through a window from the F.I.R.E. Safety House presentation by the Bristol Fire Department.

FP&S Success Stories from FEMA

Allentown, PA

Recently an Allen High School football player credited the Fire Safety House Program training he received as an elementary school student with preparing him to properly react when he saved the lives of nine persons in an Allentown apartment fire. “This program saves lives,” noted B. Daniel Dillard, Executive Director of the Burn Prevention Foundation. “It is a tremendous gift to the community when sponsors such as IronPigs Charities allow us to provide this service free of charge to those who need it the most,” Dillard continued.

IronPigs Charities Invest in Fire Safety Education

Wright City, MO

A family of 2 adults and six children escaped safely from their burning home.  Cassie and Austin proctor smelled smoke while watching TV one afternoon.  When they went to investigate, they found Austin's room in flames.  Cassie said, "All you could see was smoke and flames."  Cassie closed the door to the room and alerted her mother and step-father who got the other children out of the house.

Wright City Fire Chief Brian Nickerson didn't know whether Cassie's actions saved lives, but he stated that it made the firefighters' jobs a lot easier.  "Just having the door closed buys you another 15-20 minutes.  Otherwise you're allowing it to progress throughout the house."

From Fire Chief Nickerson, "Below are several links to a recent fire and is a case where the kids did exactly what they were taught when we provided our fire prevention program at the school using our new trailer."  

Wright City teen awarded for action in fire

Wright City fire destroys home; kids remember lessons at school

Wright City Family Displaced by Fire

Winder, GA

Mobile Safety House Saves Life
By Timothy Szymanski, publication unknown (Open Airways, Emergency, December 1991)
 
A two-year-old girl is alive today thanks to the efforts of her quick thinking four-year-old sister, the Winder Fire Department, and the Georgia Fire Academy’s Fire Safety House.
 
Last year, Octavia Harris and her little sister, Jasmine, then 1, were watching TV in their babysitter’s home outside of Winder, Ga., when suddenly the television they were watching started to smoke. Octavia quickly ran to the kitchen to alert the babysitter.
 
When they returned seconds later, the room had filled with a thick gray smoke. Jasmine was nowhere in sight. Without hesitating, Octavia dropped to her knees, crawled along the floor under the smoke and found the frightened toddler. By sliding on their bellies, Octavia helped Jasmine escape safely outside. The babysitting reported that the smoke was so thick, she couldn’t see a foot in front of her. Firefighters arrived minutes later and extinguished the fire, which consumed all of the bedroom where the children had been.
 
Fortunately, Octavia had learned the vital lifesaving techniques when the Winder Fire Department visited her Head Start Class during fire prevention week. But last year they brought something new – a mobile classroom called the Fire Safety House. The Fire Safety House is a hands-on learning tool that prepares children for the unexpected experiences of a fire by allowing them to practice certain life saving procedures. Some of the procedures that are taught are: how to “swim in smoke,” to feel the door before you open it, how to use an escape ladder and what a smoke detector sounds like and how to react when you hear one.
 
Built on a travel trailer frame by Scotty RV of Irwin, Pa., [Mobile Concepts by Scotty] the Fire Safety House is configured like a miniature house with the rooms of a home where fire is most likely to occur: the kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. The house is operated from the control room, which contains the smoke system, heated door control and all aspects of the training exercise including television monitors. The house also contains other lifesaving devices such as smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and an escape chair ladder from the “second story bedroom.”
 
The Fire Safety House the Winder Fire Department used was donated to the Georgia Fire Academy by the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation. The Foundation paid for the unit by collecting aluminum can for recycling through the Alcoa Aluminum Company’s “Aluminum Can for Burned Children” program. The cost of the Fire Safety House varies with options, but ranges between $19,000 and $25,000. Georgia’s Fire Safety House travels to all parts of the state, and the program is taught by state fire safety educators from the Academy when requested.
 
The fire Safety House was taken to Octavia’s school as part of the annual fire prevention program of the Winder Fire Department. The department is considered by many to have one of the best fire prevention programs in the state. In addition to programs in the schools, the department has many other programs such as providing free smoke detectors to families who otherwise may not be able to afford them and providing parents of each newborn infant with a free bath thermometer to make sure parents don’t inadvertently burn their infants while bathing them.
 
With the aid of a teaching tool such as the Fire Safety House, children learn how to crawl underneath the deadly toxic smoke and superheated air during fires. They also learn to avoid opening every room and how to have a pre-determined meeting place with family members outside of the home.
 
Another part of the training is to have the children realize that firefighters are their friend and they should not run and hide from the dark figure that may come toward them in an actual fire.

Mobile Safety House Saves Life

North Augusta, SC

April Pollard remembered to stop, drop, and roll during a fire.  The 5 year old awoke from her nap and could barely see through the smoke in her bedroom as a fire raged not 15 feet away in the living room of the family’s mobile home.
 
With the fire alarm blaring, the kindergarten pupil didn’t panic.  She dropped to the floor, rolled to the window – a procedure learned earlier in the month as pa part of National Fire Prevention week that saved her life.
 
From Phil Hawkins, Coordinator of the SC Firefighters ACBX Program, “Here is a copy of an article published in South Carolina that tells of the great success of the Fire Safety House in teaching kids fire safety.

Kindergartner learns lifesaving lesson from firefighters

Greensboro, NC

In the past five years, the fire safety education program of the Pinecroft Sedgefield Fire Department in Greensboro, North Carolina has an incredible two saves to its credit. And now, thanks to a 2006 FEMA fire safety grant, the department was able to purchase a new SCOTTY Fire Safety House to add to its distinguished fire safety education program.

About five years ago, Daija Ervin, a 7-year-old Greensboro resident, remembered the fire safety lessons she received at Sumner Elementary School from Pinecroft Sedgefield Captain Ken Gray. The little girl was spending the night at her aunt's house when she awoke in a smoke-filled living room.

The aunt had accidentally left the stove on while boiling baby bottles. Daija, calmly and quickly, got her sister, aunt and her aunt's baby out of the house. She received an award from the fire department and told a local reporter that, “Young people can save big people, too.”

Six-year-old Chase Tomlinson was at home with his older sister when the smoke detector went off. Chase went to investigate and saw that an unattended frying pan on the stove had caught fire. He immediately got down on his hands and knees and crawled out of the house. He then ran to a neighbor's house to call 9-1-1.

Chase received his fire safety training at Millis Road Elementary School on April 28, 2006. Twelve days later, he had to put into action what he had learned. Chase also received recognition from the department, the local newspaper, and the local Fox News Channel.

Little boy becomes big hero to his family.

Cummings, GA

Two children were saved from a fire in their homes the very day they had received fire safety training in Georgia Fire Academy’s Fire Safety House.  Sara, 9, roused her mother during the night when they saw smoke pouring into the room.  Michelle Campell pushed her daughter toward the door and went to wake the other children.  Sara used her training to crawl out of the smoke filled camper and down a flight of stairs. She ran to the neighbors to dial 911.
 
Joseph, 10, also used his newly-learned skills in covering his face with his hand as he crawled  close to the floor to safety.

Fire drill saves siblings’ lives

Danbury, NC

Danbury Reporter, now The Stokes News
 
At five years old, R.J. Keller of King has already achieved hero status. On Monday night, his heroism was recognized by county officials and the Stokes County Fire Association as well as the national Fire Protection Association.
 
On November 23, the trailer in which T.J.’s family way living was involved in a fire. T.J. saw smoke and fire in his bedroom, got out of bed and woke his parents. T.J. , his parents and his brother and sister escaped from the blaze unharmed.
 
On Monday night, T.J.’s actions were rewarded when he was presented a pin making him part of the Fire Safety House team , an award from the National Fire Protection Association and a junior firefighter set from the Stokes County Fire Association.
 
Fire officials said that an experience T.J. had at school gave him the skills to help his family escape the blaze in their home. T.J. is one of hundreds of Stokes students that have gone through the Fire Association’s Fire Safety House, which simulates a home and potential dangers and correct escape routes.
 
Fire Marshall Arthur Scott and volunteer firemen take student through the house. Their tour ends when smoke fills the air and they escape down a ladder. “We are grateful that he remembered the correct actions to follow when you are involved in a house fire,” said Scott.
 
On Monday night, T.J.’s father, Thomas, gave credit to the Fire Safety House. He said that after T.J. went through the house he talked about it and shared what he leaned with his family.
 
Randall Patterson, president of the Fire Association, presented the Keller family Monday night with a$100 check from the association to help the family.
 
Now that he’s a hero, T.J. has made some plans for his future. He has aspirations of becoming a fireman himself.

Fire Group Honors Fire Year Old Hero

Prince William County, VA

Life Safety Trailer “Save”
Mike O’Brien
Public Education Coordinator, Charlottesville,VA,
Prince William County Fire Service
 
During the County Fair this past August, a story came to Chief Culp’s attention that indicates the value of public education and all of our prevention efforts in the community. Mr. Mark Greenfield, a musician playing at the fair, stopped by the Life Safety Trailer and related that his son, Brenning Greenfield, had toured the Life Safety Trailer in 1997 as a seven-year-old and again in 1999 when he was nine. The lessons he learned about crawling low under smoke, not trying to rescue pets, and calling 911 from an outside location may have saved his life.
 
As the Greenfield family left for work and school on the morning of April 26, 2000, little did they know that a smoldering fire had begun in their basement in Crozet, VA (near Charlottesville). When ten-year-old Brenning came home from school in the afternoon, he entered a house full of smoke. Remembering what he had learned during the Life Safety Trailer tour, he immediately dropped to the floor and crawled under the smoke to the door of the basement knowing that his pet dog “Winnie” was down there. However, before he could venture down the smoky stairs another lesson quickly flashed in Brenning’s mind and he quickly got out of the house, leaving his beloved pet. Young Brenning then ran to a neighbor’s house where he called 911 and went back to the yard area to wait for the fire fighters’ arrival.
 
Brenning later told his father “when I saw the smoke, it was just like that trailer at the Fair, and I knew what to do.” Although Brenning did not do everything right, he is alive today in large part because of the valuable lessons he learned touring the Prince William County Fire Service’s Life Safety Trailer.

Life Safety Trailer Save

Lowell, MA

Fire displaces two Lowell families
Quick thinking by boy, 12, helps give firefighters head start
By Christopher Scott, Sun Staff
 
Lowell- On a day when it was hard for anybody to keep moving at all, Cheryl Warner is proud that her 12-year-0ld son, A.J., sprang into action.
 
After his mom discovered a fire behind her washer and drier inside a South Lowell condominium at about 5 p.m. yesterday, A.J. ran across the street in the frigid air – “like they taught him in school,” and Cheryl – and called the Fire Department.
 
Two families were forced from their condo units on Rockingham Street as fire fighters put down the three-alarm blaze, which is believed to have started near a natural gas-powered clothes drier in the basement of the Warner family’s unit.
 
“The fire alarms went off right away and my son ran across the street and called the Fire Department,” said Cheryl Warner, her eyes welling. “I’m so proud of A.J.”
As Cheryl broken down in tears, A.J., who is 12, hugged her and said, “Don’t worry Mom. We can fix the house. Everyone got out.”

“Oh, A.J., you’re such a good kid,” Cheryl said.
 
The Warners gave the same account to Deputy Fire Chief Phil Lemire, who was impressed with the young boy.
 
“It’s also testimony to the fire education the boy received and to a heads-up teacher,” Lemire said.
 
Some fire victims, wearing only robes and light clothing, sought refuge from single-digit temperatures in neighbors’ units.
 
Fire Chief William Desrosiers said the cause of the fire appears to be accidental. Cheryl Warner said she had been doing laundry most of the day, and both the drier and washer worked properly.
 
But at about 5, Warner said she smelled something burning from the basement. When she went downstairs to investigate, she discovered fire behind the drier.
 
Two family cats apparently didn’t make it.
 
The condominium complex is located in a densely populated neighborhood off Lawrence Street. The Warners’ two-story unit is located at the northern end of a building that contains eight Tudor-style condos. The next two units, owned by Cheryl Angelis and the family of Glenn and Harriet Kendall, were also damaged by fire, smoke and water. The Warners and Angelis were planning to stay with family last night.
 
The Kendalls were also planning to stay with relatives, but firefighters were able “to make a stand” at their unit and hold back the fire, Lemire said, enabling them to remain in their home.
Bracing themselves against a ladder truck, two firefighters used a chain saw to cut a hole in the roof of the middle unit, owned by Angelis. Desrosiers and Lemire explained that was done to allow fire, heat and smoke to escape. Otherwise, fire could have spread down the attic to other units.
 
“Because the attic is all open, that could have been a real problem for us,” said Desrosiers.
That threat, combined with the frigid weather, was the reasons the fire went to three alarms, bringing in a few dozen firefighters and nearly 10 pieces of equipment.
 
“The guys really worked their butts off tonight in very tough conditions,” said Lemire. “They worked really hard and saved the building.”
 
“My heart goes out to the families who are homeless at this time of year,” Lemire added. “but it was a real tough night and the guys rose to the occasion.”
 
The building’s five other units were not damaged.
 
With the outside temperature at about 5 degrees, water froze on contact. Desrosiers said a couple firefighters received minor injuries when they slipped on ice.
 
Meanwhile, Lowell fire crews were spread thin at about 7 p.m. when a “working fire” broke out at 784 Merrimack St.
 
“By working fire we mean if we don’t put it out it’s going to grow,” said Lemire. Fortunatley, the partition fire doused in a timely manner, Lemire added.
 
Christopher Scott’s e-mail address is cscott@lowellsun.com.

Lowell, MA

A Case of Grace Under Fire
Lowell youth receives Fire Department’s Young Hero award for quick thinking
By Dana Willhoit, Sun Staff
 
Lowell- Last March, when fire broke out at 12-year-old Jessica Woodman’s house, she didn’t panic. She knew exactly what to do, thanks to a tour through the Lowell Department’s “fire safety house” held at her school the week before.
 
On March 22, 2003, at 11:05 a.m., Jessica was at her Centralville home with her 4-year-old brother Seth, cousin Matt, 11, and brother Kyle, 12.
 
Her cousin Matthew came running up to her and said “Jessica, the house is on fire,” Jessica recalled. Jessica first tried to put it out with a bucket of water, but it spread too quickly, so she gathered everyone in the house together – including the family dog – and brought them outside. She had the presence of mind to grad the family’s cordless phone, bring it outside with her, and call 911, before phoning her father at work.
Although the house suffered major damage, no one was injured thanks to her presence of mind, according to Lowell firefighter Rene Demers, the department’s public education officer.
 
Last night, Jessica received a “Young Hero” award for her efforts at Lowell’s annual National Night Out, and her brother Kyle got a junior firefighter’s award for helping.
 
“What Jessica did as the fire occurred is what we want everyone to do,” Demers said as he presented the awards.
 
… all different neighborhoods to come together in one place,” Russell said.
 
She managed to raise about $11,000 in donations to pay for the events rides, prizes, free food and other expenses.
 
Russell said one of the biggest goals is to provide Lowell youth with alternatives to joining gangs and using drugs.
 
Groups like the Spindle City Corps, which enlists local youth in volunteering around the city and pays them a stipend, give teens a positive way to spend their time.
 
Demonstrations from a local karate school and recruiters form the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army were also there to offer teens a positive way to spend their time.
 
“They get involved in gangs because they want to belong to something. This shows them they can belong to something that’s cool and fun, that doesn’t involve drugs or gangs,” Russell said. “If we can just save one or two kids, this whole is worth it.”

Ashburn, Georgia

PO BOX 765
ASHBURN, GEORGIA 31714
PHONE: 912-567-3431
FAX: 912-567-9284
 
September 16, 1992

Mr. Don Ethridge
Georgia Public Safety Training Center
1000 Indian Springs Drive
Forsyth, Georgia  31029-9599
 
Re:       Fire Safety House
 
Dear Don:
 
The purpose of this letter is twofold. The first is to share with you and all firefighters a tragic true story that has a happy ending. The second purpose of this letter is to emphasize that although fire safety education is important, we as firefighters very seldom get to see the results of that education in such a dramatic way, and we feel that those responsible for the “Fire Safety House” be commended for their efforts.
 
In April of 1992, the Ashburn Fire Department sponsored the House for our school children ages 10-12. Several hundred children were educated in home fire safety during the week. One of those children was 10-year-old April Dawson. A few weeks later April was at home with two of her friends without adult supervision. April and her friends decided to cook lunch. Tragically, April’s clothes ignited when they accidentally came in contact with the stove top. The two friends panicked and ran outside leaving April alone and screaming in pain as the right side of her body was being severely burned as by now almost all of her clothing had become inflamed.
 
Although in pain, alone and frightened beyond belief, April somehow recalled those words taught her a few scant weeks before by our Fire Safety House training personnel… “STOP, DROP AND ROLL!” Little April did just that and her life was spared by the training she received in the Fire Safety House.
 
After awakening several hours later in the hospital, April’s physicians asked her how she had managed to smother her flaming clothing alone, she answered… “I remembered what the fireman had taught me in the ‘little doll fire house’ and just stopped, dropped and rolled.”
 
We are delighted to report that although April’s burns were severe, she is recovering nicely and with some skin grafts in the future, she should fully recover from her ordeal.
 
When anyone asks us if the Fire Safety House has saved a life, there is no doubt that we can truthfully say… we know April, we know it saves lives!
 
Don, to whomever designed the House, to whomever built the House, and to the Georgia Fire Academy who trained our people, they and you have our sincerest and most heartfelt gratitude. Willie Turner, Training Officer and Billy McCard, Safety Education Officer and I have no doubts that the House is the best manner in which to teach our school aged children about home fire safety. Furthermore, we are convinced that many lives can be saved with the continued use of the Fire Safety House!
 
The Ashburn Fire Department has utilized the House twice previously and have it scheduled to return to Ashburn in September. We have assisted two other city fire departments in sponsoring the House and are ready to assist other fire departments who might want to utilize this excellent training facility.
 
We urge all fire departments to utilize this training facility and pray that the Academy will continue its training or personnel in the use of this life saving opportunity… it get the job done!
 
Again, thanks to the people who conceived the idea and to the people who built her! To the Academy who trains the instructors and provides so much assistance, mere words cannot express the appreciation felt by all of us at the Ashburn Fire Department and especially the appreciation felt by April Dawson!
 
Bill R. Royal, Chief
Ashburn Fire Department