On Tuesday morning, a devastating house fire broke out, but thanks to the quick thinking of a 14-year-old teen in Indiana, her family was saved.
On Tuesday, June 4th, a fire broke out in a residential building on the 200 block of Level Street in Charlestown. Zoey Jasso, who was present on the scene, sprang into action and helped her family members evacuate the premises. Her bravery and quick thinking have earned her the title of a hero in the eyes of many.
As reported by WLKY, the escape from the burning flames started when Zoey woke up from the smell of a “sweet scent” and the sound of a fire alarm.
According to the news station, she described the orange light resembling an orange and how she immediately turned on her flashlight. She also mentioned how the smoke had started to fill up the room.
Upon awakening her twin sister who was sleeping in the same room, they quickly hurried to the neighboring room where their father and 3-year-old twin cousins were sleeping.
Zoey recounted the moment she yelled, “I think there’s a fire,” and described how everyone woke up immediately and evacuated the area.
In an interview with WDRB, she expressed her gratitude towards the support of their village in times of need. According to her, their family is fortunate to have a close-knit community that always has their back whenever something happens.
Zoey expressed her fear after realizing how close she was to a dangerous situation. “It is a little scary because it was right next to me. And I was just thinking, ‘What if I stayed in the room a little bit longer? What would have happened?’ It is very scary to look at this and see I was almost in that,” she shared with the news station.
After the fire, Zoey was recognized for her heroic actions by the Charlestown Board of Public Works. She was presented with a City of Charlestown challenge coin and a Certificate of Appreciation as a token of their gratitude.
According to a post on the official Facebook page of the city of Charlestown, Mayor Treva Hodges stated during the presentation that Zoey was able to detect the smell of smoke and acted quickly without panicking. She proceeded to wake up other residents of the building and made sure everyone in danger was able to evacuate safely.