Quick-thinking 8-year-old lauded by Yellowknife neighbours for calling 911 to report car fire
CBC
Grace-Ellen Beaulieu and her mother, Farren Beaulieu, were tossing and turning early Sunday morning, struggling to sleep in their crowded single bedroom in Yellowknife.
In their sleeplessness, they spotted a glint of fire in the adjacent apartment window. Upon investigation they realized a vehicle in the parking lot outside the building was engulfed in flames.
It was quick-thinking eight-year-old Grace-Ellen who jumped into action.
"I just felt scared so I just snatched my mom's phone and called 911," said Grace-Ellen. "My mom taught me how and if there was anything wrong or if there was an emergency I would call that number."
The City of Yellowknife fire division arrived shortly after her call, extinguishing the fire in approximately an hour. The car on fire was completely destroyed, and two nearby vehicles were also severely damaged from the heat, but nobody was hurt.
Grace-Ellen's call is being credited for preventing the fire from spreading from the vehicle to the apartment complex and putting lives at risk.
"We didn't know it was her until she came outside and one of the firefighters that was there said something to the effect of, 'There's the young lady of the hour — she's the one that called us,'" said Donna-Lynn Baskin, owner of one of the cars damaged in the fire.
Baskin said that Grace-Ellen's quick thinking meant the emergency responders were able to put out the fire before it could ignite the gas tanks of the vehicles and potentially cause an explosion.
All the neighbours outside the evacuated building were patting her on the back and thanking her, said Baskin.
The captain of the fire department even applauded Grace-Ellen, giving her a high five, according to her mother.
"She saved the whole building by responding really quickly with that call," said Farren Beaulieu. "It just teared everybody up. We were all just like, 'Wow, Grace. I believe you are a hero today.'"
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The struggle to sleep that night was nothing new for Grace-Ellen and her mother. Farren Beaulieu says they have been struggling with homelessness for three years now.
They are currently staying with family, the two of them crowded into a single bedroom surrounded by boxes of their belongings.
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