‘The house is on fire, help’ 11-year-old calls for help as she and brother trapped inside burning Charlotte apartment

An 11-year-old child called 911 for help as she and her 6-year-old brother were trapped inside a burning Charlotte apartment Tuesday afternoon.

The fire was reported just after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at a second-floor apartment on Rose Thorn Place.

Firefighters are calling the child a hero for helping save people from the burning apartment in west Charlotte.

The 911 call from the incident was released on Wednesday. The young girl could be heard talking to emergency officials, telling them the address and that she had a little brother.

“The house is on fire, help please. I have a little brother please,” the girl said.

Her younger brother could be heard crying in the background of the 911 call. The young girl can be heard comforting him as firefighters responded.

At least eight people were displaced from their homes, including the two children. However, officials said it could have been much worse if it weren’t for the quick actions of a child.

“We can’t see anything, everything is burning,” the young girl said.

The young girl told officials that her mother was at work at the time of the fire. The response from the child got firefighters there in less than four minutes.

“Our communication received the call via a child inside the apartment,” Charlotte Fire Captain Dennis Gist said. “There were two children inside the apartment. The child stayed on the phone with our dispatchers, gave instructions to where they were on the second floor.”

Six others were evacuated from an adjacent apartment.

While there is damage left behind, it may have been worse if not for the child putting herself in harm’s way to protect others.

“Upon our arrival, the older child allowed for her brother to come down the ladder first and she also shut the doors to keep the smoke and any harmful substance from getting to where they were,” Gist said.

That’s something, as the captain said, a hero would do.

“The child is a hero,” Gist said. “This child did a very good job and helped save lives today.”

Officials said most of the damage is isolated to one apartment.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but no injuries were reported.

This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 12:00 PM.