BEL AIR, Md. — It was just after midnight when flames began spreading through a second floor apartment in a building along Conowingo Road in Bel Air, and that’s when a seven-year-old boy awoke his mother and came to his family’s rescue.
“Kudos to the kid for (being) able to discover the fire and alert his mom,” said Master Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire, “He wasn’t scared of it. He did the right thing so this had a fantastic outcome.”
The boy’s mother, his grandmother and his 18-month-old sibling escaped without injury and his mother even had time to run back in to rescue their two dogs.
It was later determined a misplaced space heater had ignited the flames.
Bel Air family escapes fire thanks to 7-year-old boy
Investigators say the fire underscores the need to take safety precautions when using a space heater in your home.
“Make sure that it’s UL listed,” advised Alkire, “Don’t ever plug a space heater into an extension cord and make sure that it’s actually somewhere in the middle of the room. Don’t have it near combustible items such as linens, fabrics, anything that could possibly ignite.”
Tragically, water and smoke damage have shut down Olivia’s Place, a popular consignment shop, located on the floor below the burned out apartment.
As many as 1,000 clients are now taking stock of their merchandise and the owner has established a GoFundMe account to help the business recover, but he’s quick to point out the fire’s impact could have been much worse if not for the the seven-year-old boy.
“The kids a hero. The kid… the little boy is definitely a hero. Yes, he is,” said Jarod Thurston, “I’m glad he did that and got them out of there and thank God they were okay and didn’t get burned up."
