A ten-year-old boy from Mississippi is enjoying his time in the spotlight after helping to save his family from a house fire, showcasing the type of calm and poise under pressure that would make Tom Brady blush.
The boy, Bailey Doyle, woke up to the smell of smoke in his Oxford, Mississippi home, which is when he made the decision to remain calm and to do exactly what should have been done.
“It’s something that you love seeing. That’s the reason we go into the communities and do what we do in the schools. We teach these things and love to see them implemented in situations like this,” said Casey Henderson of the Lafayette County Fire Department.
Bailey jumped into action and alerted his grandparents, who were visiting, and helped them to exit the house immediately.
“I just thought as soon as I saw the smoke. OK, get my parents and go,” Bailey said, adding that he learned what to do in part from local firefighters.
“I guess it was the firefighters coming to my school.
“They were the ones who taught me to wake up my parents and all that.”
Bailey Springs Into Action Before Smoke Detectors Went Off
Upon waking at around 5:30 am, Bailey smelled something not so good, and didn’t realize exactly what it was at the time.
“I smelt something bad,” he said. “Thought it was my brothers.”
With the house going up in flames, Bailey said he felt nervous and scared.
It was then that he said he remembered the fire drills he had participated in with his parents.
“Like if anything happens but they’re not awake and I’m the only one awake that I need to move quickly and get them up,” he said.
Bailey’s grandfather, Joe, said the boy went to work in alerting his family before the smoke detectors went off, saving them extra time to leave the house.
Ultimately, nine people, including four children, escaped with their lives.
“We are just happy that Bailey had the sense not to wait around to get the family up. He went right into action,” Grandpa Joe said.
Many locals are now calling him a hero. Through it all, Bailey has remained modest.
He says he’s thankful that he was able to get his family out of the home at the right time according to an April 6 report from local news media station CBS46.
“A lot of people have been saying I am the hero. I am just glad everyone was able to get out of the house,” Bailey said.