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Youth warns Poppy of house fire
Heather MacAdam, heathermacadam@thecasket.ca
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After coming over for his usual morning visit July 17, eight-year-old Nolan MacPhee was able to warn his grandfather Peter of a fire in the kitchen of his Highland Drive home and get him out of the house safely. (Heather MacAdam photo)
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Eight-year-old Nolan MacPhee doesn’t consider himself a hero.
He just did what he had to do when he went next door to his grandfather’s house for breakfast July 17 and found the stove engulfed in flames.
Nolan, the son of Maurice and Laura MacPhee, goes next door to his grandfather’s house each morning with his younger sister and brother, Roma and Grant.
Nolan’s grandfather, Peter, said each morning he gets up around 5 a.m., picks up the newspaper and makes his tea before going back to his room.
“This morning, like any other morning, before I go back to watch TV or relax or do whatever, I always unlock the door because they come down,” he said.
Peter said he usually keeps the burner on very low to keep his tea warm for when he wants another cup.
That morning he only had one cup of tea and went back to his room around 5:45 a.m.
“I had the air conditioner on because it was warm,” he said. “I was watching TV, sitting and relaxing in my chair very happy.”
Peter said he didn’t smell or hear anything strange.
“Until this young man bolted in through the door and said ‘Poppy, Poppy – the house is on fire.’ Needless to say when I got up the stove was virtually a massive flame.”
There was a scented candle on the stove which caught on fire, he said.
“It had also spread to the range hood.”
Peter put five or six damp tea towels on the fire which eventually extinguished it.
Nolan said that morning he came down for breakfast around 7:30 a.m.
Nolan said he was “kind of” scared when he saw the fire in the kitchen.
“The stove was just [in] flames.”
Nolan said the fire was bigger than the bonfires he and his family have outside.
“I just wanted run and warn Poppy,” Nolan said. “I wasn’t that calm – I was pretty much losing my mind. But it wasn’t scary after he put the fire out.”
After the fire was out Nolan said he called his father.
Nolan didn’t know whether to call 911 to have someone come help, Maurice said.
“So he called me because I was next door.”
Maurice said he couldn’t find his sneakers so he slipped on his work shoes.
“They got a great kick out of that – a pair of shorts, t-shirt and leather work shoes. I was the brunt of few jokes that morning.”
While on the phone Nolan, Maurice initially thought his son was joking because he was so composed.
“I thought ‘OK, I’ll go down.’ When I got here the smoke was billowing out the back door, out the side window, out the [back windows].”
A plastic salt and pepper shaker were burning which made the air very toxic.
“I wanted dad to get out because he has had breathing difficulties in the past and I didn’t want Nolan in here.”
Nolan said there hadn’t been working batteries in the smoke detector.
“We got a new very, very loud one.”
Maurice said the incident ended up being a good lesson for the family that they need to keep the smoke detectors in working order.
Maurice said since the incident Nolan has been a “reluctant hero.”
“He’s told me he’s just glad poppy’s OK and the house didn’t burn down. As a parent, I’ve very, very proud of the way he handled it. If it was a bigger fire I wouldn’t advise him to run in – that’s what 911 is for – but he was able to assess the situation very quickly and do what he had to do.”
Maurice added Noland and Peter have a very special bond.
“These two have been so close,” Maurice said. “Since mom died two years ago it’s unbelievable how closed they’ve become, between playing cards, playing street hockey and playing catch. It’s a great bond that they have and not everyone is lucky enough to have grandpa or grandma near by.”
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