Neighbor Saves Grandmother & 4-Year-Old Boy From House Fire
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GRAPEVINE (CBS11) — A little boy and his grandmother are recovering after their home caught fire and neighbors rushed to save them.
Grapevine Fire Department responded to the fire in the 300 block of Starnes Street around 2 p.m. Family members said the little boy, a 4-year-old, is doing well. They say the grandmother has burns on her arms and upper body, but they do expect her to make a full recovery.
They may owe their lives to their neighbor, who was able to smash through the front door to save them.
When smoke started coming from his neighbor's side of their duplex, Dough Aguirre ran outside where he could see through a glass storm door a little boy standing next to his grandmother crawling on the floor.
"The lady was saying that she couldn't breathe, and the kid was like, 'Save Grandma!' Just basically saying, 'Save Grandma,'" Aguirre said.
When he couldn't get the door to open, Aguirre reached for the first thing he could find, an umbrella.
"I was like just go ahead and step a little bit back, so I can go ahead and break the window, and he just starts to protect Grandma from the glass," Aguirre said.
As Aguirre smashed through the glass, Kiera Brewer was on the phone with a 911 operator. She says the little boy, Aiden, was able to get out on his own, but neighbors had to drag his grandmother, Sharva, to safety.
"She looked like she had burns all over her body, and then the baby, he had a little bit of burns on his face," Brewer said. "I'm really worried about Sharva, 'cause I think she was kind of unresponsive, so we're really worried about her."
First responders airlifted the grandmother to Parkland Hospital. Aiden followed in an ambulance. The family's dog, Linnus, also managed to escape through the door Aguirre broke open.
But the young man insists firefighters deserve the credit, not him.
"Honestly, they did a fantastic job. I think if somebody could be called heroes, it's totally them," Aguirre said.
But Fire Chief Darrell Brown said Aguirre's quick thinking made all the difference.
"You know he saw his neighbor in need, and he certainly reacted," Brown said.
Firefighters were able to get here in time to contain the damage to one side of the duplex. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
"If you see somebody in danger, that's what you do," Aguirre said. "You try to help that person. It's just a natural instinct that I think all humans have."
If you'd like to help the victims of the fire you can make a donation here.
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