CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WSVN) — A 12-year-old girl escaped a house fire on Tuesday morning, saving not only herself but also the family’s four dogs from the smoke-filled home.
The fire broke out in a duplex in Cape Coral, filling the residence with thick, black smoke.
Connie Callahan, the girl’s grandmother, expressed immense gratitude for her granddaughter’s bravery.
“I am grateful my grandbabies made it out and the dogs are alive,” she said.
Callahan recalled how the young girl and the family’s four dogs were inside when the fire began. It was one of the dogs who alerted the girl to the danger.
“She said she smelled smoke, and the dog we call Big Mama started pouncing on her, and the ceiling had already started coming in,” Callahan explained.
The girl’s mother, who was watching from work as her daughter prepared for school, noticed the smoke through a connected camera. From miles away, she was able to guide her daughter out of the home, providing instructions through the camera as the house filled with smoke.
“My daughter via camera from work had to talk her through to go out of the house because it was pitch black inside,” Callahan said.
The neighbor, Casey Bernard, who shares the duplex, also experienced the effects of the fire.
“The fire department made us evacuate too because of the smoke inside,” said Bernard.
Although the girl is being treated at the hospital and is expected to recover, the family lost everything inside their home. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.