SAPULPA, Okla. (WTHR) – Four teens are being honored for their heroic actions to save the life of a 90-year-old woman who was trapped inside her home when it caught fire.
In a heartfelt blog post written by 90-year-old Catherine Ritchie's daughter, she describes how the boys brought her mother to safety and thanks them for their bravery.
A couple weeks ago, Ritchie was getting ready for bed around 9 p.m. when she found her bed engulfed in flames. She made an attempt to extinguish the flames by throwing blankets and pillows over it.
Ritchie's daughter describes that the heat and smoke was so overwhelming that Ritchie became disoriented and couldn't find her way out of the house.
"She walked into the closet several times thinking it was the door that leads to the hallway," the blog post said. "It wasn’t. She couldn’t find her way out. She was stuck. Smoke everywhere."
That's when four teenage boys, ranging from ages 14 to 17, saw the flames from across the street and immediately sprang into action.
One of the boys started breaking the glass on the front door, one called 911, one went to the back door and began kicking it in and one went to a neighbor's house to get help and an ax.
"Within minutes, a door was kicked in by a 14-year-old child who found my mother in the hallway outside of her bedroom and picked her up in his arms," the blog post said. "Kids who are told about all the things they aren’t old enough to do saved the life of the most precious and beloved woman we know."
Ritchie, along with the four teens, all escaped the fire without any injuries.
"Thank you for not allowing this to be the tragic end to our mother’s amazing life," Ritchie's daughter wrote. "Thank you for staying with her, hugging her, and helping her feel less alone until we could get to her."
The families all came together again to celebrate Father's Day.
