r/UpliftingNews • u/Silent-Resort-3076 • 4d ago
Teenager saves family stuck on roof during house fire
https://abc6onyourside.com/news/nation-world/house-fire-family-saved-teenager-teen-saves-rescue-rescued-rescues-stuck-trapped-ladder-on-top-scream-screaming-quick-action-thinking-neighbor-neighbors-young-children-kids-kid-child-jump-jumped-hero-heroic180
u/Silent-Resort-3076 4d ago
Full article:
CLEVELAND (WOIO/CNN Newsource/WKRC) - A 16-year-old's quick thinking and bravery could be the reason a neighbor and her children are still alive after they became trapped on their roof during a house fire.
16-year-old Tyler Sowden was in his house when he heard a commotion coming from his neighbor's house, pushing him to immediate action.
"I was in my house," Sowden said. "I heard screaming. I seen the kid on top of the roof. The house was on fire, so I took a ladder, ran over, put the ladder up, grabbed the four kids and helped the mom down the ladder."
According to authorities, at the time of the fire the house was occupied by a mother and her three children - a 10-month-old boy, a 7-year-old boy, and a 12-year-old boy. Sowden saved the mother and the two youngest children, while the 12-year-old jumped off the back porch.
When asked what he was thinking when he first saw the fire, Sowden said, "I don't know, I wasn't thinking. I just took the ladder and ran."
"It's amazing," said Lieutenant Mike Norman of the Cleveland Fire Department. "He saved their lives. He was heroic this morning. I give him a lot of credit - to react, to think ahead, to bring the ladder. He brought the right ladder to the scene and helped that woman and her children down. He saved three lives today."
Sowden's stepfather, who was out of the house during the incident, expressed his pride in the 16-year-old's actions.
"He just jumped into action no questions asked, risking his life to save the others," he said. "Just goes to show you, he valued other people's lives more than his own at the time just to do what he needed to do. He knew what needed to be done and he did it. I'm so proud of this boy."
128
u/JollyJeanGiant83 4d ago
I love this story both because of the teen's heroics, and because you know the 12 year old insisted in jumping off the roof. Like he could have had a personally delivered custom ladder with Mountain Dew bottle service right there and he still would have jumped. 🤣
45
u/Silent-Resort-3076 3d ago
The 12 year old boy was probably also thinking: No way am I going to let a 16 year old save ME!😋
4
3
u/HistoryHasItsCharms 2d ago
Speaking as someone who used to teach middle school in the Cleveland Municipal District, you are not wrong. 12 year olds will do some interesting things for the sake of being tough, including jumping off the porch roof.
As a matter of fact my friend’s brother did that once just for the heck of it on a dare. Same area.
2
u/JollyJeanGiant83 2d ago
I teach a class for middle schoolers every year. This year I have one I have to keep reminding to please not fall down the stairs. 🤦♀️
1
u/HistoryHasItsCharms 2d ago
You sure they aren’t trolling?
1
u/JollyJeanGiant83 2d ago
Oh no he really did fall down the stairs. If he's not paying attention that just happens. If he's not paying attention and the other boy in class is also on the stairs at the same time, it is twice as likely to happen. This kid is not exactly known for his physical coordination.
1
u/HistoryHasItsCharms 2d ago
Oh dear, I know the type. 🤦🏻♀️
With mine something like that had a 50% chance of being a spoof, a 25% chance of it being another student (accidentally usually), and the remainder as you described. They kept us busy! We were in a no-so-good neighborhood so we had drills and lockdowns fairly frequently too, fire and evac drills were a nightmare first half of the year.
22
u/automatic-systematic 3d ago
I live close to where this happened. The community has raised money for Tyler to attend drivers ed classes.
9
u/Silent-Resort-3076 3d ago
What a wonderful community:)
And, if anyone deserves that, Tyler sure does!
4
u/Silent-Resort-3076 3d ago
P.S. The Cavs are now planning to honor Sowden before their home game on Sunday, and he will get a chance to meet some of his favorite players, including (Donovan) Mitchell.
2
u/automatic-systematic 2d ago
If you are looking to help the family affected by the fire, Operation Lean on Me is helping collect items for them
•
u/AutoModerator 4d ago
Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a place free of excessive cynicism, negativity and bitterness. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here.
All Negative comments will be removed and will possibly result in a ban.
Important: If this post is hidden behind a paywall, please assign it the "Paywall" flair and include a comment with a relevant part of the article.
Please report this post if it is hidden behind a paywall and not flaired corrently. We suggest using "Reader" mode to bypass most paywalls.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.