Fire safety lesson at school saves lives

A five-year-old Beaufort girl who learned about fire safety this month during a classroom lesson helped save her mother and five other children from an apartment fire earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, at about 3 p.m., the young girl alerted her mother that she saw smoke and that they needed to get out of the apartment in the 2200 block of Southside Boulevard. Firefighters from the Beaufort / Port Royal Fire Department, assisted by crews from the Burton Fire District, responded to the smell of smoke and were able to locate and extinguish the fire quickly, Fire Chief Sammy Negron said.
“This young child learned how to react to a house fire in a recent fire prevention class conducted by Beaufort-Port Royal firefighters in her school as part of October’s Fire Safety Month,” Negron said. “The training session included classroom instruction along with hands-on education on what to do in case of a fire. By paying attention, this young lady may have helped save lives.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Damage was minimal, largely because the child’s quick response limited the blaze to a utility room and prevented the fire from spreading, Negron said.
Beaufort/Port Royal firefighters were assisted by Beaufort police, Beaufort County Emergency Services, the American Red Cross, the Burton Fire District and the Northern Beaufort County Fire Service Investigation team.
If you would like to speak to a firefighter about making your home safer, please call the City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department at 525-7055 or send an e-mail to city-fire@cityofbeaufort.org.