WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Girl called a hero after leading blind man to safety during fire

Girl called a hero after leading blind man to safety during fire

By Jackie Faye - bio | email

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A blind man was inside a Columbia house when fire broke out Friday morning. He's okay, but it's all because of a six-year-old little girl.

The Columbia Fire Department said the fire happened shortly after 9am Friday on Santee Avenue near Martin Luther King Park and Five Points.

Deputy Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said the fire started when a seven-year-old cousin of the family was playing with a lighter near the couch in the living room.

Six-year-old Skylar Kennedy was also in the house when the fire started, and so was a blind man.

"We yelled out, we told Tim that fire was on the couch and then he jumped up," said Kennedy.

"They woke up the adult and actually told him about the fire," Jenkins said. "The ironic thing about it is the guy is actually visually impaired, but he was still able to get out of the house."

"If it wasn't for them I'd probably still be in there burnt up, because I had my door closed and I would have had to come out of my room into the fire," said Timothy Moore.

All three managed to get out safely, and no injuries have been reported.

"I'm completely blind I have no light perception or anything, so if they hadn't woke me up, talked to me, come and got me out of the room, the smoke would have been the least of my worries, I wouldn't have been able to see anyway to get out," Moore continued.

"We ran down to Auntie Mary's house," said Kennedy.

Auntie Mary came running down the street to help.

Deputy Chief Jenkins said the fire caused approximately $30,000 in damages, but Moore knows their lives are priceless.

"I'm glad we made it out," he said. "I mean we lost a lot, but we're still here."

Skylar says she learned what to do in case of a fire from her teacher Mrs. Jenkins -- who happens to be the wife of Deputy Chief Jenkins.

"She said if your clothes get on fire just stop, drop and roll," said Kennedy.

She's one smart six-year-old, and although she's being called a hero, she's still a kid.

"That's my bike," she said, indicating an object destroyed in the fire. "I just got that bike and it's all burnt up now. And it had pink on it and the wheels were white."

The seven-year-old who accidentally started the fire went to the hospital with asthma problems.

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