A 17-year-old teen saved his two siblings from their blazing home in Tucson, Arizona.
Samuel Hatten is hailed a hero after he took swift measures to rescue his sisters as the home was bursting into flames around noon on Friday, April 6. His six-month-old and 18-month-old sisters were napping at the time of the fire.
Hatten was outside checking the mailbox when the fire alarms began sounding off and the smoke thickened.
“I just wanted to get everybody out because I wanted us to still be a family and not have to lose anybody because I’ve lost a lot of people in my life,” the teen told KVOA News 4. “I grabbed both of them in my arms and climbed out the window backwards and swung my legs around and hopped out. I came and sat right here by the post and sat down and started yelling for help.”
The 17-year-old’s swift maneuvers and protective instincts are what potentially saved his siblings and the family’s father, Phillip French, could not be more appreciative.
“If i could give him a million dollars I would. I don’t know what else I could do for him. If I….it’s beyond words. They are here because he was here,” the father told the news source.
The family of five are currently staying in a hotel and French has set up a Go Fund Me Page for the teen’s lost items in the fire.
“I was kind of distraught at first but I felt better now because I know that they are going to be in my life and I know that I’m not going to loose them,” Hatten said. “We all look out for the babies, the dogs. We look out for each other we’re trying to stay strong and hoping for the best.”
Tucson Fire Department is still investigating, but believe the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction.