Door-to-door salesman rescues teen from house fire in Garland, Texas



By Scott Gordon, NBCDFW.com

A door-to-door salesman selling home fire alarms noticed smoke coming from a Texas home, heard a woman screaming and broke a window to rescue her.


Kaeriel Evans, 18, who has Down syndrome, was inside by herself when the blaze started in the 1600 block of Homestead Place, Garland, near Dallas, at about 6 p.m.

"I heard this lady yelling, 'Help, help,'" said Corey Anderson, of Rowlett. "I looked down and saw the smoke so I took off running, and -- reaction -- I just started kicking in the windows."

He tried to find her but couldn't at first.

"As far as I went in, I couldn't see nothing," Anderson said. "It was just smoke."

Then, he heard her voice again.




"I heard somebody say, 'Help me, help me,' so I pushed over an entertainment center and kind of went in there and saw the girl and I told her, 'Drop down and come to me.' And she did. And I got her out."



'He's a hero'
Anderson sells home security systems that include fire alarms, he said. He hadn't yet made it to her house when he saw the smoke and flames.

Evans was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital with smoke inhalation and minor burns but was expected to recover.

Soon, Evans' brother arrived home. "When I saw the house burned up, that's the first thing I asked about -- where is my sister?" Kavaucey Lewis said.

Read more from NBCDFW.com

Lewis, 20, said he lives in the house with five siblings and their mother.

He quickly learned about her rescue and thanked Anderson.

"I just told him how much I appreciate it because my sister is my heart," he said.

Anderson was humble about what he had done.

"I'm glad I was here and could help," he said. "I really do wish if that was my family, somebody would do the same thing."

Evans said he couldn't thank Anderson enough.

"He went in there and, you know, he's a hero," Evans said. "He went above and beyond."

Anderson said the word "hero" doesn't fit.

"I don't feel like a hero," he said. "I just feel like, I mean, it was reaction. At the time, I just went with my instincts."

Firefighters are investigating how the fire started.


http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013...and-texas?lite

 

THATS what being a citizen of this country and a "man" is all about!!! Wish more were like that..

 

Doing what you are supposed to do, even if it may cause you harm or your life. I would say that would classify as a hero. Finally, someone with character.

 

Do you think it's a coincidence that a fire alarm dude would save a young girl as he was walking through a neighborhood he was trying to sell fire alarm systems to ??

Really ???

Are you from NJ ???

 

Let's wait and see where/what started the blaze, eh?

Hopefully it's a great hero story...

I'm skeptical...

 

A few years back there was a volunteer fireman / first aid squad dude that was bored with the lack of "tragedies" in the area, so he decided to make his own. He went onto an overpass of one of the larger highways and let a few cmu's drop off the bridge onto some.... or in front of.... a few cars with people just ... minding their own beeezewax.


He was later booked on attempted murder charges and if I recall got about 20 years in the same cell as "bubba the rump man"....


I'm skeptical, as I'm a product of my environment, although I do hope for a hero story as well....

 

We had a firefighter in SoCal years ago lighting brush fires to kick up some work also, IIRC....

 

?????

There was a couple kids with the volunteer fire dep't back in Pennsylvania that someone noticed were always first on the scene for abandoned building or barn or unfinished house fires. They eventually nailed them for arson.

 

Concrete Masonry Unit

 

Something similar happened a few years ago around here. The mountains around here are dotted with old fire towers. One of them that was one of the easiest to access became a popular visiting spot and was maintained just to give folks a nice place to visit and look out.

A local FD had a new guy who had been with the dept for a couple weeks and mentioned a few times how "it'd be wild if someone burned the fire tower down".

It didn't take long at all to figure that one out.

 

Correct.... AKA Cinder block



Cinder blocks don't get used any more, as they're susceptible to deterioration over time.

 

It's a little off topic, but an older friend of mine worked in the oilfield. Back then, they used an engine to run the pumping units. When things got slow, he's sneak out there and speed one up. Next day they had a rod job to do, and he made sure he ran the unit (turn the speed back down).

 

We'll see what transpires as the facts get presented in official reports.

The news agencies are so eager to report something that they will push to get a story out, even if if its false or vague.

I was interviewed by a Reader's Digest reporter for a lead story years back and was amused by how much she tried to persuade me to bloat the facts and embellish the danger of the situation, when in fact, we took all available measures to stay safe and had very cooperative weather conditions...

My refusal to play into it only got me a small mention in the article, which I guess was her way of getting even with me.

But I am ok with that.....The truth is easier to remember!