Thousands of men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day when they go to work here in Hampton Roads. Tuesday, we begin a series dedicated to the first responders who went above and beyond the call of duty this year.
The Hampton Roads Chamber presents the 2021 Valor Awards. News 3 is honored to collaborate with them again and to highlight incredible feats of bravery.
On November 23, 2020 Chesapeake Firefighters were called to an apartment fire. They arrived to find two young girls trapped inside.
The crew worked together seamlessly to control the flames so firefighters could get to the girls. The fire crew's efforts were credited with saving their lives, but these two young girls also did everything right and helped save themselves.
“The grandmother was in the parking lot screaming save my babies save my babies!," Chief Edmund Elliott said.
Lieutenant Kevin Lyons explained the scene saying, “I said we don’t have long in here. We had fire above us and below us. The floor could’ve fallen off below us, the attic could’ve come down on top of us. We had seconds to get these girls out. So, I did a left-hand search. found the other door with my hand. Went straight to the knob, opened it. The youngest one, the seven-year-old, just came up and just hugged me. I just remember, she just literally latched on to my stomach, and would not let go. I saw the older one, 11 years old, she was laying down. I picked her up and carried her out the way we came. I was right behind Stocks. They basically saved their own lives. They closed the bedroom door, and that kept the heat away from them, and they laid low and that’s what you’re supposed to do get the good air down the bottom because heat rises. I know we go to schools; we tell them we put our mask on we put the air on. Don’t be afraid of us, we’re here to help. And so, she remembered that, and you look he’s here to help us. Do not run away from us or hide or be scared of us.”
“Possibly hurt me or my crew to save her. I could not just sit there while she screaming that her grand kids or her babies are inside that just wasn’t even an option in my head," Lieutenant Kevin Lyons said.
News 3 will bring you other stories of incredibly brave men and women working as first responders in Hampton Roads in the coming weeks.
