9-year-old girl alerts Washington family to house fire
Firefighters work at the scene of a house fire in Washington Wednesday night.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Firefighters work at the scene of a house fire in Washington Wednesday evening.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Firefighters work at the scene of a house fire in Washington Wednesday evening.
Firefighters work at the scene of a house fire in Washington Wednesday night.
A 9-year-old girl on a scooter helped save the day Wednesday evening for a Washington family who had no idea the back of their North Franklin Street home was on fire.
Felicia Arroyo was riding her scooter in her neighborhood along Rose Avenue, when she stopped at the backyard of 267 N. Franklin St.
“I saw fire and smoke, and even all the way down there you were able to see it, too,” Arroyo said, pointing toward Hall Avenue.
“I screamed at anybody in the house. No one responded, so I went flying down that street.”
She said she saw her neighbor outside, so she told him about the fire, and he called 911. Then she went to get her mother, Brittney Moton, and her uncle, George Rine.
“My mom came flying,” Arroyo said.
Rine said he jumped the backyard fence of the burning home and started calling out to anyone inside.
The family of three, including a child, made it out of the house safely. Next-door neighbors pulled their garden hose and tried to put the fire out before Washington firefighters arrived on scene.
Washington Fire Chief Gerald Coleman said the family will be able to stay in the house, as most of the damage was done to the back porch and the rear addition, which was a laundry room. Coleman said the fire was likely started from a cigarette that was in close proximity to a gas generator.
Moton and Rine both said they’re proud of Arroyo, who’s thinking about becoming a firefighter when she’s older.
“That was a good thing to do,” Rine said.
North Strabane and Peters Township fire departments responded to the scene along with Ambulance & Chair Services.