Boy, 4, hailed as hero
Published: July 2, 2007
Xavier Johnson isn’t that tall, and he isn’t very old either, but when flames broke out in his apartment building, he leapt into action like a seasoned firefighter, the Fredericton Gleaner is reporting.
The 4-year-old Fredericton boy was recognized by the Fredericton Fire Department today for his quick thinking in last week’s fire.
Xavier awoke to a smoke-filled apartment shortly after 6 a.m. Friday, but was able to remain calm and get to his mother who was in a separate room.
“I told Mummy that you couldn’t breathe, but I remembered to wake everybody up, run downstairs and then call the fire department,” Xavier said.
The Johnsons and everyone from the four other apartment units in the building were already outside by the time the fire department arrived.
“We were there within two minutes of the call, so it was pretty fast,” said Paul Fleming, division chief of the Fredericton Fire Department. “If we didn’t get the call when we did, it could have been a full-blown structure fire.”
The boy’s mother, Suzannah, said she couldn’t see through the smoke and it took awhile for her son to wake her up.
“I felt like I was still in a dream,” she said. “You never expect to wake up to a fire. This was the first and hopefully the last time it will happen.”
Her son said he wasn’t scared and he remembered what to do from a fire-safety presentation that was delivered to his day care class three weeks earlier.
“I’m extremely grateful that the fire department came in and taught the kids about safety because they remember it and they are proud to use those skills,” his mother said.
“Xavier only seemed a little shaken up afterwards, but he was really, really calm during it. He did what he was supposed to do.”
A clothes dryer in the building’s basement is blamed for the fire. No one was injured and the tenants were able to move back in a few days later.
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