FLOMATON, Ala. — A pair of Flomaton siblings are credited with saving the day after a house fire tore through their home just before 3 a.m. on Friday.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
It was a full circle moment for Flomaton’s fire chief, who regularly goes to the children’s school with firefighters to teach fire safety and hand safety cards out.
As you’ll see, something the little boy got at one of those classes was a lesson he took to heart when it came down to survival.
9-year-old Garrett Gill and his 11-year-old sister Keyiah were sleeping when the sound and smell of flames hit them.
“I heard some popping noises, from the outside of our porch, and then I woke Garrett up,” Keyiah said. “And then the next thing is we looked outside and there was a fire.”
The two children share a room. The fire chief believes the flames started on the home’s front porch. They weren’t able to escape from the front door, so they ran to the back of the house.
“When my sister turned on the water, I started spraying it all over the house where the fire was,” Garrett said.
As smoke swirled around, the little boy plucked a tattered fire safety card that he’d stuck on the fridge.
“I already knew what it said because I read it eight days ago,” Garrett said.
He followed the steps that he already memorized to get his uncle, grandfather, and sister out to safety.
“I got it from Flomaton Elementary School,” Garrett said. “We were doing the fire drill test, and then gave us this at the end of it. Make a map of your home.”
The children’s principal checked on the students Friday.
“I’m so proud of Garrett and the decision that he made,” Flomaton Elementary Principal Courtney McBride said.
Fire Chief Steve Stanton regularly teaches fire safety at the school.
“The officer took the water hose from the kid after he had just about knocked it down, and then we took over and put several gallons of water on it and put it out,” Stanton said. “But if the kid had not started putting water on it, we could have lost the whole house.”
In the middle of our interview came more good news in the shape of a small black puppy.
Their dog Carter popped up, wagging, and unscathed.
A brother and sister duo, already heroes, now an inspiration to all of us.
“Just because I put out a fire doesn’t mean I am a superhero,” Garrett said.
Because every superhero needs a day job.
“After putting out a fire I realize that when I grow up I can be a firefighter man,” Garrett said.
It was almost a year ago to this day where nearly the same situation happened.
Both the principal and the fire chief told us a different student’s home caught fire.
But because of the fire safety training they learned at school, they were able to follow the safety steps and get out of their burning house.