By Baylie Davis
The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE, Wy. — Last November, 6-year-old Samantha Edwards heard a fire alarm go off at her house and knew exactly what to do to help get her family out safely.
Thursday, Samantha was recognized as a fire department hero by Capt. Mark Stephens from Cheyenne Fire and Rescue.
A few weeks before the Edwards home caught fire, Samantha had attended a fire safety presentation at her school, Arp Elementary.
There, Stephens demonstrated how to crawl under the smoke and what families should do if there is a fire at their house. Setting up a meeting spot outside was one important lesson.
Samantha went home and insisted her family have a fire drill. So they did, and they set up an arranged place to meet outside.
Weeks later, eight days after Thanksgiving, the drill became real.
As the children were getting dressed for bed, a turkey fryer in the family’s garage caught fire.
“The smoke was like nothing I’d ever seen,” Stefanie Edwards, Samantha’s mother, said. “It was just rolling along the ceiling.”
As soon as she heard the alarm and saw the smoke, Samantha found her mother, who told Samantha to grab the dog and go to the meeting place.
Stefanie then wrapped her other daughter, Sabrina, 3, in a blanket and met her older daughter outside. Her husband, Floyd, stayed behind to try to put out the fire and save the family’s home.
He was later treated for smoke inhalation and released, but none of the other family members were hurt.
The house wasn’t destroyed, and the fire was mostly confined to the garage, Floyd said.
At Thursday’s presentation, Samantha’s kindergarten class cheered “hip hip hooray” for Capt. Stephens and watched, wide-eyed as Samantha received her recognition. Samantha hugged her little sister, and the grown-ups in the room sniffled back tears of pride in the young hero.
Arp’s student council president presented the Edwards family with donations that were made by the community.
“I just wanted to thank Arp and the community,” Stefanie said, not only for teaching her daughter about fire safety, but for opening their hearts to help and their ears to listen.
Stephens said he highly recommends that families have fire drills at home, both during the day and at night.
Practicing can be the difference between whether you live or die, he said.
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