Crime & Safety
Brave 13-Year-Old Rescues Sister from Burning House
The children were trapped in a bedroom. The boy called 911 as his sister yelled, "I'm going to die."
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As his little sister yelled for help and exclaimed, “I’m going to die,” a 13-year-old boy called 911 to report his family’s house fire and guided rescuers to them.
Prince George’s County firefighters were called Sunday morning to a two-story house in the 9600 block of Small Drive in Clinton.
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Fire officials say the children’s parents escaped the home before firefighters arrived to rescue Marcus and Aaliyah McCoy from the burning house, according to FOXDC.
When the dispatcher told Marcus to get out of the house if it was safe, he replied, “I can’t, it’s hot in the hallway.”
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The child said he wasn’t sure if others were trapped in the house, besides his little sister, who was in the room with him. “I can’t breathe,” he gasps into the phone while his sister coughs nearby.
Marcus can be heard on the 911 call following the emergency workers directions to close the bedroom door, block the smoke from coming under it, and to keep low to avoid the heat and smoke.
As he relays safety instructions from the 911 dispatcher to his sister, Marcus gives the dispatcher directions on how firefighters can find his bedroom.
Within minutes sirens can be heard, then Marcus directs rescuers to his room, where firefighters break a window and free the children.
Prince George’s County Fire Chief Marc S. Bashoor said, “I’m very proud of all of our folks. They, combined with a brave young man and a composed 911 call taker, made a difference today - they saved lives.”
The children are recovering at Children’s National Medical Center, while the adults suffered minor injuries, the TV station reports.
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, but say a smoke detector downstairs had no batteries in it. The family was alerted to the blaze by their barking dog.
The cause of the fire, which appears to have originated near a computer desk, remains under investigation, according to the fire department’s blog. Damage is estimated at $75,000.
»Screenshot of Marcus and Aaliyah McCoy, from FOX DC
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