It could have been fatal. That is what Innisfail Fire Chief John Syroid said about a fire that roared through a Iocal residence with two young children inside.
But due to the bravery of Innisfailian Joshua King, four lives were saved on that April day as he single-handedly rescued two young children and two dogs from the flaming house.
“He saved my life,” said 10 year-old Gage Grimstab, who along with his seven-year-old brother, Austin, was in the house at the time of the fire. “The fire was scary. But I felt safe after he got us outside.”
Grimstab recalled how he was sitting on his bed in the basement playing Xbox when he heard the fire alarm. Then he heard King kick in the door of the house and yell for them to get out.
His younger brother was upstairs at the time. “He lead us outside and we got out. He saved us.”
When Grimstab was asked if he considers King a hero, without even hesitating, he said yes.
And Syroid agrees.
“He's a hero,” said Syroid, who arrived on scene after King had safely rescued the two boys.
“The situation could have ended a lot worse than it did,” he added.
And now Syroid and the owner of the residential fourplex, Jess Hunt, a current resident of B.C., want King nominated for either a provincial or national hero award.
“I think this man is deserving for recognition of an award,” said Syroid. “He knew what he was supposed to do and did it quickly.”
Hunt was the woman who came up with the idea of nominating King for a hero award, and says that she believes he is deserving of recognition for his brave efforts.
“The man is a hero,” Hunt said. “He saved four lives, and for that, he should be given an award.”
Hunt said she has not yet looked into what award would be best suited for King's courageous efforts. However, a couple of awards King could be nominated for are the Caring Canadian Governor General's Award and the Royal Canadian Humane Association Canada Bravery Award.
The fire at the fourplex residence on 46th Street ignited at around 5:45 p.m. on Friday, April 5th.
King, a father of seven who lives across an alley from the house, said he was just doing the right thing when he first noticed the smoke coming from the house across the alley.
“At first I thought the neighbours were barbecuing. But then the smoke got thicker and turned black. That was when I knew something was wrong,” he said.
King wanted to investigate the troublesome smoke further so he made his way over to the house. When he reached the backyard of the residence, he could hear smoke alarms ringing.
“By that time I knew that there was a fire inside,” he said.
“I also knew that two small kids lived there because they play with my daughter.”
King approached the house and knocked on the door. After receiving no response, he opened the unlocked door and entered the blazing building.
“Get in and get out, that was what was going through my mind,” said King.
“I was nervous but I knew there was a chance kids were inside,” he said. “So I followed my instincts.”
King soon found a young boy in the basement of the home and another upstairs. After he guided them outside to safety, he went back in to retrieve the household's two dogs.
King explained that although he was nervous about entering the house fire, he had experience while serving as a firefighter for two years in Drumheller.
“I followed basic procedure,” he said. “I just did what I already knew.”
He had more difficulty rescuing the pets then he did rescuing the children, as the dogs were uncooperative with his gestures and commands.
“One dog kept running away from me and was barking and howling. He must've been scared,” he said.
After more coaxing, the dog finally ran outside.
King explained that after the children and dogs were safe, he did one final check of the house, which is routine while putting out a fire.
“When all the rooms were clear, I left the house,” he said. “I must've been inside the house for 10 minutes total.”
It took Innisfail's fire crews about an hour to extinguish the flames, which left $100,000 worth of damage to the home.
No one was injured.
Fire department officials determined the fire started on the balcony of the residence and spread inside the house after the glass doors leading to the balcony exploded.
King explained that after the fire crew arrived on scene, he stepped back to let them do their job. However, after the fire crew heard that King had rescued two children from the home, they handed him a hose and asked him to start pouring water onto the house.
“I don't see myself as a hero, really,” said King. “Just someone trying to help out.”
