by Mark Bellinger
ERIN, Tenn. - When you think of heroes you don't normally think of a three-year old, but one family in Houston County said their little boy saved their lives.
Three-year-old Miquel Valerio saved the lives of his uncle, mother and sister after their Kizer Ridge Road caught fire around 7 a.m. on January 9.
"He was yelling, Momma, smoke, fire!" said great grandmother Delphia Barber.
The 3-year-old's mother Alexis Valerio, his uncle and twin sister were in the house asleep when the fire started. But Miquel was awake. Delphia said Miquel ran through the house trying to wake everyone up.
Everyone got out safely, except for a family cat.
"I saved lives and I saved momma," said Miquel. "The fire truck, it went in the house."
At his preschool Miquel had practiced fire drills. Firefighters have come to the school, so Miquel knew what to do.
"She told you to get out, that's right. That's what we do," said Miquel's teacher Darla Norville.
Looking at the photo of the house Miquel said, "That is big. That fire is big."
The blaze destroyed the house. The family lost everything, but they're thankful. Someone could have been killed.
"If it was just me in there, I really don't know. I probably would have just slept through it," said Alexis Valerio.
Life will never be the same, but this family will never forget what Miquel did.
"You know most kids would go hide or be scared. I was just glad he had the common sense to just be like this isn't right and I need to wake somebody up now," said Miquel's mother.
Alexis Valerio said, "He's a hero. I told him he's a hero."
Firefighters told the family that an electrical problem may have caused the fire.
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Photo Credit : Houston County Fire Department, Stewart Houston Times
