To the editor:
I am the parent of one of the girls living at the house which burned on Vermont Street. It was her 21st birthday, so we had come down to celebrate the event.
What your article didn't mention was that there was a person riding his bike home from work that night who saw the fire burning on the girls' front porch. He had the foresight and courage to enter the front porch and pound on the front door loud enough and long enough to wake one of the girls up. Had it not been for this guardian angel, I would have lost two of my children to this horrific fire. They were both fast asleep on the third floor, which had no fire detector.
Talking with the girls that night, no one remembered hearing any fire detector alarms, but they do remember hearing the banging on the front door. I am confident that had this person not banged on the front door that night, I would be burying two of my children this week.
Although this individual would not leave his name, I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude for his courageous deed and to acknowledge that his actions saved my children's lives. I will not be able to thank him personally but hope that he made read this and know that I am forever grateful that he not only saved my children's lives but mine as well.
Sir, I can never thank you enough.
Steve Clayton,
Omaha, Neb.
Comments
Richard Heckler 6 years ago
Code violations anyone?
My goodness did the press not know of this cyclist?
Joe Hyde 6 years ago
Wow! That guy definitely did a good deed, and those girls and their parents are lucky indeed.
Weird, that a fire would start on the front porch. Making it all the more miraculous that this unknown guy decided to wake up everybody by banging on the front door, thus exposing himself to burns.
You wonder with a fire that starts outside the structure, starts on the front porch: would smoke alarms (indoors, wall-mounted on third floor rooms) have been able to detect danger in time to roust those girls before the floors below them were aflame, blocking their escape? Thankfully we'll never know.
Sounds like this was a very, very lucky deal.
redneckwoman 6 years ago
Cheers to the biker dude & to all in the house for getting out alive!
lawrencechick 6 years ago
Who is renting out a three story building with no smoke detector?? How is that allowed?
Celeste 6 years ago
Kudos to the bicyclist. That's amazing, and wonderful, too. I hope all sorts of good things happen to him, he deserves it. That family will be extra thankful this year, because of you biker guy. Good job :-)
bearded_gnome 6 years ago
Who is renting out a three story building with no smoke detector?? How is that allowed?
-- we don't know there were no smoke detectors. indeed the scenario is plausible for a fire starting on the front porch that depending on air currents smoke detectors might not catch smoke to detect.
very very good biker dude! God go with you! good job.
once again, Merrill displays his boundless vapidity! what a boil on the butt of humanity he is, and praising those who blow up our troops too! Merrill is a dispicable worm.
Tychoman 6 years ago
Nice Steel Magnolias quote, gnome.
bearded_gnome 6 years ago
hawk, get a grip...lots of houses have a sofa on the front porch. stop acting like you're the investigator on some trashy tabloid tv show! "why was there a sofa on the porch?" asked dripping with implication... A: because some one liked to sit there and wanted a place to park their assets! geeeeeeeeeeez! hawk, are you trying to give merrill competition?
matahari 6 years ago
I doubt there is a person who would have NOT knocked on the door....well maybe one, but really, I think most people do the reasonable thing when a situation such as this one appears. They would have stopped out of curiosity if nothing else..many people are named heros and heroines that were just in the wrong place at the right time
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