Heroic seven-year-old Florida girl saves family from house fire

Tracy Durant, a seven-year-old girl from Escambia County in Florida, is being hailed as a hero for saving her family from a house fire that broke out around 10:30 a.m. on January 28.  According to MSN, Tracy credits her quick-thinking and life-saving skills to the fire safety tips she learned at school.  The fire started in the kitchen of Tracy’s home while her 13-year-old cousin, Shemaiah, was cooking up some chicken on the stove, according to ABC News.  Regarding the flames that flared up in the kitchen, Tracy said:

“It looked like when the stove was on and it came up top and then it kept getting bigger and bigger. I didn’t want us to get killed. I feel happy to save my baby cousin because I didn’t want him to get killed.” He is 11 months and he will turn one next month on the ninth.” ~ per WEAR-TV

There weren’t any adults in the house when the fire broke out, prompting the seven-year-old quick-thinking Tracy to run over to a neighbor’s house to seek help.  “I said can I see your phone to call 911 because our house is on fire,” said Tracy. Tracy helped get her badly burned 13-year-old cousin and her 11-month-old cousin out of the house.

Shemaiah had to be transported to Sacred Heart Hospital where she was listed in serious condition; but she is expected to survive her injuries.

“No one got hurt except for Shemaiah. I really don’t want her to get hurt because she was watching us until momma came back,” said Tracy.

Images of the burned out home are available on Twitter.  As bad as the fire was, Tracy’s grandmother says she was able to salvage some personal items even though most of the family’s belongings were destroyed.  The grandmother told reporters that the family is very proud of Tracy.

Tracy is crediting her life-saving skills to her teacher at school and told reporters that, “She said one day I would be a hero…and I wanted to start practicing now.”  The house fire is currently under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal.

https://youtu.be/IWq3Fdji8T8

~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter