10-Year-Old Boy Saves 2 Children From Burning Home: ‘There Was So Much Smoke’
In Oakland, Florida, 10-year-old Isiah Francis is being called a hero by Orange County Fire Officials for pulling two young children he didn’t know from a burning trailer. The boy was playing outside with friends when he noticed smoke billowing out of a trailer. Without even hesitating, he rushed to the home to see if he could help, according to WFTV.
“I looked out the window because I smelled something, [and] when I looked out the window, I saw smoke. I went in the house grabbing the kids. And after I came outside with the kids, I told the dad, ‘Is there any more?’ and he said no, so then I called the fire department and the police.”
Isiah ran into the Lake John’s Motel Efficiency home, grabbed the two kids under his arms, and took them to safety outside.
“I had to go in there with the fire to grab the kids while the dad kept running in there with water trying to put [the fire] out. I was nervous because there was so much smoke. It was hard for me to see and all that. My heart was beating so fast…”
He said that while he was very afraid that he would be burned or that that the trailer would just explode, he did not hesitate to save the children. While fire officials are still investigating, they are crediting Isiah for saving the children from deadly smoke inhalation. Initial reports have suggested that the fire started on the kitchen stove, and it would have been too late by the time the fire department arrived to save the children from injury.
As for Isiah, the fire confirmed something he’s always known.
“I’ve been wanting to [be a fireman] ever since I was five years old. Even though I have to go through all this hard work, I still want to be one.”
Although the size of the fire wasn’t immediately clear, smoke conditions were heavy when the first fire crews arrived. Isiah wasn’t sure there were only two children, and was prepared to go back in to try to find more, but the father told the child that he’d gotten all the children out of the burning home.
Fire-related deaths are one of the leading causes of death for children under age five in the United States. That’s partially because children become frightened and hide instead of running outside.
[photo by WFTV]
