CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. – Two teenagers are being praised for their quick thinking and courage after helping their neighbors escape a fast-moving house fire on Monday afternoon.
What they’re saying:
Ryleigh Shackleford and Faith Ackerman jumped into action around 3 p.m. after seeing flames consume the front of a nearby home.
“I look over, and I see my neighbor’s front door was completely on fire,” Ackerman said.
Shackleford called 911. “By the time I got off the phone with them and everything, the whole front porch was on fire,” she said.
As thick smoke and flames intensified, the teens noticed two men and their dogs struggling behind a gate in the yard.
“We saw like two figures walking behind their fence. And so we just like instantly ran over there,” Ackerman said.
Ryleigh Shackleford and Faith Ackerman
Fire officials say the two residents had escaped the burning house with their dogs, but the gate wouldn’t open.
“I put all of my body weight and I busted it to get it open because they could not get it open,” said Shackleford.
“I take one of the dogs, she takes the other dog, and then we grab like, each of their arms, and we like, help them to the front of our neighbor’s house,” Ackerman added.
The other side:
Cherokee County Fire officials say the situation could have easily turned deadly.
“Given the conditions of the fire, it was just a matter of a shift in wind where these girls and the residents could very easily have been taken over by flames or smoke,” said Cherokee County Fire spokesperson Michael Sims.
“Without a doubt some very heroic actions by these young ladies going to help a neighbor in a time of need,” he added.
Ackerman said they didn’t stop to consider the danger. “I would hope someone would help me if I were in that position,” she said.
What’s next:
Fire investigators believe the blaze began on or near the front porch, but the exact cause remains under investigation.
The Source: FOX 5’s Denise Dillon spoke with Ryleigh Shackleford and Faith Ackerman as well as Cherokee County Fire spokesperson Michael Sims for this article.
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