911 call details moments 7-year-old boy saves Delaware family: 'Can you please come'

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Friday, January 22, 2021
911 call details moments heroic boy saves family
A newly released 911 call details the moment a heroic boy jumped into action to save his family as his home went up in flames in Delaware.

BEAR, Delaware (WPVI) -- A newly released 911 call details the moment a heroic boy jumped into action to save his family as his grandfather's home went up in flames in Delaware.

The fire broke out last Thursday on the 200 block of Rice Drive in Bear.

Yanique Rainford Jr., 7, was in the house with his 2-year-old cousin Liam Rainford and his 92-year-old great-grandmother Rosamond Rainford.

"And then I came downstairs to get water and then I saw a fire," Yanique told Action News.

Yanique says he ran upstairs to get his baby cousin out of the house and ran back in for his great-grandmother.

"I told my grandma to come, but she was trying to put the fire out," Yanique said.

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Yanique then did a remarkable thing for a 7-year-old. He picked up the phone and called 911.

"Um, can you please come help me - there's a fire," Yanique can be heard saying.

"What's the address?" asked the dispatcher.

"It's Rice Drive," said Yanique. "It just started firing. I ran down to my grandma."

"What's on fire?" asked the dispatcher.

"It's the whole house. Can you please come?" said Yanique.

Firefighters arrived just in time to pull the great-grandmother out of the house who had fallen unconscious near the door. She was taken to Jefferson University Hospital for treatment.

Authorities deemed the fire which started on the back porch accidental, saying it was caused by a malfunction of a pellet stove in the rear of the home.

But everyone was amazed by the 7-year-old, calling him a hero for having the instincts to call 911.

"I read from this book from my school. It tells you everything you need to do - you have to call 911 for a fire," said Yanique.

His family is thankful of the young boy's heroic actions.

"I'm a proud man. He did a wonderful job," Yanique Rainford Sr., the boy's father, said. "I'm glad he thought to call 911 and just didn't get shocked and scared and stay in there."

"He saved the day and this could have been at night, it could have been way worse than this. I'm truly grateful," said the boy's grandfather, Don Rainford.

The great-grandmother who suffered burns to her face, arm and back is at Jefferson. Family members said she is in stable condition.