Burlington, New Jersey, community celebrates 11-year-old who spotted smoke and spoke up
BURLINGTON, N.J. (CBS) – Over the weekend a young boy in Burlington, New Jersey, literally saw something and said something, prompting his parents to call the authorities for help.
11-year-old Kiyan Hammond and his family were outside their new home on Sunday when the sixth grader noticed something alarming.
"My family and I, we were playing in the snow… I had looked across the street and seen smoke coming from a house. Then I yelled to my mom, 'Call 911!'" Kiyan said. "Then as she was calling 911, my stepdad went to the door and was knocking on it to make sure everyone got out."
To celebrate Kiyan's quick thinking and his heroic act, Burlington first responders partnered with New Jersey's first Raising Cane's restaurant to honor him Thursday night.
"One of the detectives who handled the fire came forward, asked us if we'd be able to host two to three people, then it turned to six to eight people, I said absolutely. When she gave us the backstory, our restaurant was happy to jump in and serve this young man," Harry Newton, assistant restaurant leader at Raising Cane's, said.
"For somebody to see this, to really take action, an 11-year-old child … notify their parents, it doesn't happen that often," Burlington Police Chief John Fine said.
Kiyan's mother, Donita Joseph, sounds exactly how you think a mother in a situation like this would sound.
"I'm just very proud that he saw something, said something," she said. "I did not expect this big of a story to come from something in such a small town."
Asked how it feels to be a hero, Kiyan said he feels like one of his favorite superheroes, Spiderman.
"I just learned to always be aware of my surroundings," he said. "Always be ready to say something when I see something."
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