Wayland Girl Given Hero Award For Saving Family From House Fire

WAYLAND, MA — There's a hero among us, and she's fifth grader over at the Happy Hollow School. The young girl alerted her family to a fire in their home, getting them all out and likely saving their lives.

The Wayland Fire Department and State Fire Marshal, Peter Ostosky, presented the “Young Hero’s Award” to Anastasia Vavrick, a fifth grader at the Happy Hollow School, for her heroic actions during February school vacation.

Vavrick earned the award because of her actions on Feb. 22, when a fire happened at her West Plain Street home. While the family was sleeping, a fire was burning on the back porch that spread to the rear of the home creating a dangerous fire and smoke condition. The smoke detectors weren't working, but luckily, Vavrick woke up and smelled the smoke at 2:30 a.m.

She acted calmly and woke up the other family members so they could safely get out of the house and call 911. The Fire Department arrived and quickly extinguished the fire. Because of her actions, the family was able to remain in the home after the fire and while repairs were being made.

The Wayland Fire Department has been actively teaching the SAFE Program (Student Awareness of Fire Education) in the school system for many years and the lessons learned in this program clearly helped prepare this young girl for the actions she took, said the announcement.

"The Fire Department is proud of her for applying what she learned and doing the right thing at the right time."

The SAFE Program, which is in its 22nd year, is a state initiative that provides resources to local fire departments to conduct fire safety education programs. Its goal is to help children in grades K-12 understand the dangers of fire and recognize fire hazards. In fiscal year 2017, the Department of Fire Services announced that 234 fire departments across the Commonwealth received SAFE grants.

So far this year, the Commonwealth has seen 24 civilian fire deaths, taking the lives of people of all ages. Education is a key factor in preventing this type of loss, and programs like SAFE are making a difference. Without question, fire sprinklers and properly installed and operating smoke detectors are important in saving lives and property. But testing the batteries in a smoke detector is just the first step. Everyone must know to check the age of the smoke detectors, as well.

Photo via Wayland Fire Department