Hero Kindergartner Saves Family And Neighbors In Fire

OAK LAWN, IL — An Oak Lawn kindergartner is being praised for his quick actions that may have saved his neighbors’ lives and kept his apartment building from going up in flames. There were no injuries and the fire was contained to one unit.

Around 6:30 p.m. Sept. 8, the Oak Lawn Fire Department was dispatched to an 18-unit apartment building for report of a burning smell on West 93rd Place. Neighbors believed the odor was coming from a specific apartment because the door was hot to the touch, and were concerned that the resident may still be inside, according to Oak Lawn EMS-Fire-Rescue’s Facebook page.

Crews forced the door open, where they found flames and heavy smoke inside. Firefighters began searching the apartment. The fire was extinguished and confined to the apartment of origin before it could spread to other units in the building. Through a neighbor, firefighters were able to reach the resident, who was not home when the fire broke out. Crews remained on the scene, checking the units for fire damage, securing utilities and evacuating smoke from multiple apartments. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

While on the scene, firefighters learned how 6-year-old Vinny Ramirez had alerted his mother, Gina Lee, to smoke seeping into their apartment.

“I had set Vinny up with a movie and snacks in the living room while I was in the back bedroom organizing my closet,” his mom said. “He came to me and said, ‘mama, I see smoke coming up behind the couch.’ [The apartment on fire was below them.] When I walked in the living room, there was smoke. He was with me when we knocked on neighbors doors. One door was hot. That’s when I called 911 and we exited the building.”

Oak Lawn Fire Chief Mike Mavrogeorge praised Vinny’s quick actions:

“Vinny did the right thing by quickly alerting his mom and helping knock the doors to tell neighbors to evacuate. By quickly alerting his mom, his actions may have saved lives and reduced further damage to the building. This is exactly what we teach children to do if they smell or see smoke to quickly tell an adult. He did just that and it made a difference.”

Vinny is a student at Hometown Elementary School in Dist. 123. Chief Mavrogeorge hopes to stop by Vinny’s school and recognize him in front of his class.