Watch: Family of 9 Escapes Mississippi House Fire Thanks to 10-Year-Old

A swift-acting ten-year-old boy helped his eight family members escape an early morning Mississippi house fire earlier this week.

Smoke from the Oxford housefire awoke 10-year-old Bailey Doyle at around  5:30 a.m. Tuesday, the WREG reported.

“I smelt something bad. Thought it was my brothers,” the humorous ten-year-old told the outlet. 

He promptly alerted his mother to the smoke, who subsequently found the garage ablaze, as his father ushered everyone out of the home, according to WREG. 

The Lafayette County Fire Department (LCFD) arrived moments later and began battling the fire with an “aggressive interior attack,” the department said in a press release. 

“Much of the fire was able to be contained to the garage and the living area above the garage,” the LCFD said. “There was minor fire extension to the attic. Firefighters performed overhaul and were able to locate and extinguish all fire extension.”

The department said nine people, including four children, were among the home’s occupants. As a result of Bailey’s quick response, “everyone in the home was able to make it out, including the two adults sleeping in the area above the garage,” the LCFD explained. 

The firefighters heard of Bailey’s actions and praised the youngster on the scene, LCFD Captian Casey Henderson said. 

“They were giving him fist bumps. Calling him a hero, wanting to shake a hero’s hand,” Henderson told WREG. 

Bailey said he knew what to do thanks to firefighters who visited his school. 

“I guess it was just firefighters coming to my school,” the ten-year-old explained to Fox 13 Memphis. “They were the ones who taught me to wake up my parents and all that.” 

 “It’s something that you love seeing,” Henderson told the outlet. “That’s the reason we go into the communities and do what we do in the schools. We teach these things and love to see them implemented in situations like this.”

Though he is receiving high praise, Bailey remains humble. 

“A lot of people have been saying I am the hero. I am just glad everyone was able to get out of the house,” Bailey said.

The Doyle family has been staying in a hotel since the blaze as damage is assessed by an insurance company, WREG noted. Part of the family’s home and a vehicle were destroyed. The fire’s cause is still being investigated.