ANDERSON, Ala. — A volunteer firefighter who gave her life rescuing her grandson from a house fire “died a hero,” officials said Thursday.
Elizabeth Childers, 42, died in the fire at her home in Anderson, Ala., after handing her 2-year-old grandson out of a window to her husband, Scott Childers.
Scott, who is also a firefighter at the Anderson Volunteer Fire Department, safely made it out of their home along with their 17-year-old daughter and their grandson.
“Without her actions, that baby might not have made it out of the house either,” Anderson Police Chief Carla McGee told the Associated Press.
“She died a hero, putting her loved ones before herself,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Ronnie Willis said. “Our prayers are with her family and members of the Fire Department.”
Childers was asleep inside the residence with her husband, their 2-year-old grandson and her 17-year-old daughter when the fire started, according to the report.
Officials said Childers’ body was found inside a back bedroom where she had handed her grandson out of the window.
“It’s just a sad situation,” Pastor Bill Barlow, of Bethel Baptist Church in Anderson, said. “This is something that has shocked the entire Anderson community.”