He tried to put the fire out with his blanket
ESCANABA -- A nine year old is being hailed as a hero after he tried to put out a fire that consumed an Escanaba apartment complex he was living in on the night of September 14. No one was injured, and police say the fire was accidental and electrical-related.
It's been an emotional week and a half for nine-year-old Collyn Olson and his family, who are now without a home after the fire. It was a frightening night for this lucky boy, who remembers it clearly.
“I was half asleep, and I heard a sparking noise,” explains Collyn Olson. “And I thought it was by my bed. So then it shot out flames, and I thought it caught my bed, but it didn't."
Olson says when he couldn't put the fire out, he woke up his mother's friend who was sleeping in the living room. From there they alerted other tenants who were able to get out of the burning building. However, not all members of the family escaped. Their two dogs died in the fire that fateful night.
Now Collyn and his mom are trying to pick up the pieces of what remains of their past life. What remains isn't much. There’s a charred building that once housed families and dreams. It’s now surrounded by police tape.
Collyn's mom, Erin Lee, was able to save a box of pictures. Other than that, they escaped with the clothes on their back and their lives.
“That's the most important thing really,” says Lee. “If it wasn't for Collyn, I wouldn't have anything at all."
How does mom feel about her hometown hero?
“I'm extremely proud. I’m glad he's here," Lee says.
The family are currently living in an apartment in Hermansville. Lee says she hopes to find a nice home with a yard for the kids to play in.
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