Neighborhood Fire Rescue Effort

By Angela Hatcher
WSLS10 Reporter/Anchor
Published: April 2, 2008

Here on Clark Street, “Everybody around here in the neighborhood pretty much sticks together and tries to keep an eye out for one another.”, says Bobby Woody.

But it was their ears that let them know a neighbor was in trouble.

“We was sitting on the front porch and heard Lena yelling help help.”, says Charlie Cunningham.

So 14 year old Charlie Cunningham and his 16 year old brother John ran across the street and with another neighbor, ran inside the burning house where John says it was, “Hard to see, hard to breathe.”

The boys tell me when they ran inside the house, Lena was inside the living room behind the couch.  That’s what’s left of the couch.  They tell me it was on fire and she was trying to put out the flames.

“I just picked her up and took her outside.”, says Charlie.

Lena tried to go back in.

“We were just like Lena, you’ve got to stay outside.  We don’t want you going back in there.”, sasy Charlie.

Meanwhile, the boys’ stepfather, Bobby Woody grabbed his water hose.

“I just started spraying everything I could spray inside the house with the water hose.”, says Bobby.

That’s the last thing Bobby remembers before passing out in front of the house, from smoke inhalation.

“I never really paid any attention to the smoke.”, says Bobby.  “I was more worried about trying to save her house until the fire department got there.”

Bobby’s out of the hospital.

“It’s not everyday you get the chance to help somebody like that.  And if I had the chance to do it all over again I would, for anybody.”, says Bobby.

“It did a number on it.”, says Charlie.  “But it ain’t nothing that can’t be fixed.”, adds John.

As the boys look at the house, they tell me they can’t wait for Lena to come home.

“She said we were her heroes.”, says John.

But they all say they were just being good neighbors.

Lena was trying to go back in to get her two dogs.

They were later rescued by firefighters.

Bobby’s brother was the one of the first firefighters to respond.

John, who we mentioned is 16, just filled out an application to become a volunteer firefighter.

Charlie says he’ll do the same as soon as he’s old enough.