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Fire Rips Through Knoxville Home, 8-Year-Old Hailed A Hero

KNOXVILLE (KDKA)- An 8-year-old girl is being hailed as a hero for getting her sister safely out of a fire in Knoxville Wednesday morning.

According to officials at the scene. the fire started around 2 a.m. at a home in the 100-block of Zara Street.

When crews arrived, heavy fire and smoke was coming out of the second floor.

An 8-year-old girl and her sister were sleeping on the second floor. The 8-year-old smelled smoke, woke up and began screaming and yelling to wake up her sister.

"We [were] asleep and the candle caught on to something. She woke up and woke me up out of my sleep, and got us out of the house," said Naquala Crosby.

The girls' mother was not home at the time of the fire. But, she says her 8-year-old daughter saved her life too.

"Yeah, she saved my life because if I would have lost the life of them, I don't know what would've have happened. So, yeah she saved my life too," she said.

sisters
KDKA

There was no electricity in the house and the family was using candles as lights.

"Electric was temporarily off, they were attempting to put it back on. I think tomorrow it was supposed to be turned back on," said Battalion Chief Frank Becker.

Chief Becker says crews knocked down the fire rather quickly, keeping it from spreading to a home next door. The second floor of the home had heavy fire and smoke damage, the first floor had a lot of water damage.

The family of five lost a lot of their possessions inside the home and they have not been allowed back inside because of the significant smoke and water damage.

The Red Cross has been called in to help out with food, shelter and clothing.

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