A woman in Colonial Heights, Virginia, recently rescued two young boys from a burning apartment after a smoke detector woke her shortly after she returned home from her 232nd day of chemotherapy treatment. JerKesha Petty says she saw smoke coming from the top of the apartment door and ran across the street, where she saw the kitchen engulfed in flames. She made sure both boys were safely outside before repeatedly going back inside, attempting to extinguish the fire.
Petty went through two extinguishers that did not fully stop the fire before retrieving a third specialized extinguisher, which successfully knocked down the flames. “I didn't really have time to respond, react,” she recalls, “I just knew that they needed to get out of the residence and that the fire needed to be put out.” She was later treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation and released.
Battalion Chief Geoff Turner of the Colonial Heights Fire Department says Petty was at the right place at the right time while fighting her own battle. On Friday morning, the department presented her with a certificate recognizing her bravery along with a new fire extinguisher, and two local businesses also gave her gifts. Since the fire, Petty completed her chemotherapy and radiation treatments and is now a breast cancer survivor.
Source: WTVR
photo: GETTY