To offset this morning’s depressing Erin Caffey news, here’s a story about a 15 year old girl who risked her own life to save her younger sister, who was trapped in the family’s burning home.
Chantal McGowan was watching television at her home when she heard smoke alarms going off upstairs, where her 3-year-old sister, Savanha, was sleeping. “I couldn’t smell anything, but when I went into the kitchen smoke was billowing out of the top oven. It was so strong that I almost threw up,” McGowan says of the smoke, “but all I could think about was my sister. I ran upstairs and wrapped her up with a quilt around her head and ran downstairs.” Chantal removed her sister from the home, left her in the care of neighbors, and then contacted firefighters.
McGowan’s mother, Tina Gill, is extremely proud of her daughter: “‘If it wasn’t for her being so brave I could have lost both of them,” Gill says, “Savanha was fast asleep upstairs, and I had just taken the dog for a walk. It can’t have been more than 10 minutes. It was as quick as that. When I got back the smoke was pouring out of the house, and all hell had broken loose. Our neighbours were fantastic. The man from next door had to be treated for breathing in smoke as well because he was trying to put the fire out while Chantal rescued her sister. It was very scary, but I’m so proud of her. She saved her sister’s life.”[DailyMail]