‘I didn’t want my sister to die’: 7-year-old East Tenn. boy rescues baby sister from house fire

NEW TAZEWELL, Tenn. (WVLT) - A New Tazewell family is thankful to be alive and safe after a fire completely destroyed their home Tuesday night.

According to Nicole Davidson, her 7-year-old son Eli helped make sure their 22-month-old daughter made it out of the burning home safely.

Davidson said something woke her in the middle of the night before she realized there was smoke and flames in the house. She and her husband Chris are former firefighters and immediately jumped into action.

“He grabbed the fire extinguisher trying to buy me time to get the kids, and I grabbed the boys because they were closest to the fire,” said Davidson.

Davidson said flames in the living room prevented her from reaching the bedroom where her 22-month-old daughter was sleeping.

Once the parents and two kids made it safely outside, Davidson said her husband gave Eli a boost so that he could enter the baby’s bedroom through a window. Even though he said he was scared, he went into the bedroom and grabbed the baby from her crib, handing her out the window safely.

“Dad busted the window and then I said, ‘I can’t do it,’ like two times, and then I said, ‘I got her dad’. And when we went down there I said ‘I was scared but I didn’t want my sister to die’,” says Eli.

No one was hurt in the fire, but the home was a total loss. The family is now staying with a family member who lives nearby.

South Claiborne Volunteer Fire Department initially responded to the fire along with several other nearby departments.

Investigators have not determined an official cause, but an electrical fire is suspected.

Anyone who wants to help the family through donations can learn more about how to do so here.

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