Teen's obsession with a Disney+ TV show led her to save people trapped in an apartment fire
Important lessons might come from the most unexpected sources. When a 14-year-old girl passed by a building fire and called for help, she didn't know that knowledge from her favorite Disney+ show would come in handy. The teen girl from Leyland, UK, Lily Swanson, was walking her family's Rottweiler, Isobel, when a strong smoke smell made her stop and check for the source. She looked around and saw smoke coming out of a flat window located above the Wardrobe clothes shop and acted quickly, per the Lancashire Post.
"There were no flames at that point, but I could see people inside. I knew they needed help fast and I had to get home and call 999," Lily recounted, referring to emergency services in the UK. The teen rushed home and woke her 42-year-old dad, Mike Swanson, up to inform him about the fire and how the smoke had started filling the street. Lily called emergency services as her dad picked up his ladder and rushed out to help people who were trapped inside the apartment. When the teen girl first noticed the apartment, there was only smoke, but within minutes, it was on fire. "As soon as I called the fire brigade, we ran back outside and we could see people hanging out the window," the daughter went on.
"It had only been a minute or two since I first saw the smoke, but as we were running over to help them, one of the windows blew off and fell into the street," Lily explained. "That’s when my dad and I saw the flames. I told my dad we should try and get everyone out of the other window above the barber's next door." The father-daughter duo opened the ladder and leaned it against the building. Two or three people were already trying to climb out of the window out of desperation. "But then the fire brigade showed up very quickly and took over. We couldn't believe how fast they got there." The fire department could get everyone out safely.
"We did everything we could do and thankfully everyone got out safely, which is the best that could have happened," Lily continued. Jonny Nottingham, Leyland Fire Station Manager and the incident commander, praised the teen for her swift and calm action. "We’d like to thank Lily for calling us so quickly after spotting the fire in the apartment. We have seen in the past that people can have lots of different reactions to seeing a fire, but Lily showed maturity and calmness beyond her years to quickly and effectively notify us." Mike and Lily waited at the scene as the fire crew got everyone out of the building safely. The teen's dad was proud of her response to the emergency situation.
"It was a proud dad moment for me, as it could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for Lily's quick response. She's been obsessed with this TV programme on Disney+ called '9-1-1'. It's about emergency services in America that deal with things like this," the dad remarked. "Then this happened practically on our doorstep and she handled it brilliantly. I'm very proud." The fire had started in the flat's kitchen and went on for three hours until the fire department extinguished it. The cause behind the fire was not known.