OAKLAND, Fla. — Typical of their hot summer days free from school, 11-year-old Jeremiah Grimes and 10-year-old Isiah Francis were plopped on the couch watching YouTube and playing video games, but Tuesday they smelled something unusual.
When they looked out the window, they saw smoke streaming from the home next door.
As Jeremiah put on his shoes, Isiah ran next door, where he encountered the neighbor frantically searching for water to douse the flames. The man told him two children were in the kitchen.
Isiah went inside and, with Jeremiah’s guidance, grabbed a 1-year-old and 8-month-old.
“It was really smoky,” Isiah said. “I could kind of see, but I had to use my sense of touch.”
Two other children in the home were rescued by firefighters who arrived moments later, after Jeremiah called 911.
“They did something that a grown man would think twice about doing,” said Jeremiah’s mother, Stef Laboy. “They obviously didn’t think twice about it. They were very heroic.”
Instinct kicked in, Jeremiah said. Both boys had been trained at school to call 911 in the event of a fire.
“I was just doing it,” Jeremiah said. “Basic instinct took over.”
Kat Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Orange County Fire Rescue, said that “one or two young boys called 911 and went into the burning home and saved those two children.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.