After losing her son in a fire, NC mom keeps his ‘giving’ nature alive. Here’s how.
Michael Johnson hid behind a bed as a fire ignited in the kitchen and ripped through his aunt’s west Charlotte apartment three years ago.
As firefighters searched the apartment for survivors, they found the 9-year-old ‘s unconscious body in the spot where he had hidden. Michael would later die in the hospital. Now, his mother is determined to keep his memory alive.
“I don’t care if somebody contacts me 10 years from now, I’m so adamant about telling this story over and over and over again, because fire safety is so important,” Dominique Bradley said. “I, myself, didn’t even realize this until I lost Michael.”
Bradley is now an advocate for fire safety and has organized events to spread awareness and provide useful information to parents and children so what happened to Michael doesn’t happen to them.
“I didn’t want his story to be another sad story on the news, so I just really got out here,” Bradley said. “I’m just trying to change my tragedy.”
On April 8, 2018, Me’Chele Morrison had fallen asleep while cooking dinner. A fire started and quickly spread through the apartment. Morrison’s smoke detector didn’t work, so she didn’t wake up.
Her son Tremaine, Michael’s cousin, is the fire’s sole survivor. He’s now 9 years old.
Firefighters initially got Morrison, 23, and Tremaine out, but a neighbor told them that another boy had gone into the apartment earlier. Firefighters found Michael’s body, and it was later determined he died of smoke inhalation not burns, Bradley said.
Before Michael died, he and Bradley were planning a big party for Aug. 19, his 10th birthday.
“I was really messed up April and May, and all I could think about was his 10th birthday,” Bradley said.
Bradley came up with the idea of a birthday party for Michael, but instead of gifts, guests would bring book bags, she said. The plan was to donate the book bags to Michael’s school, Reid Park Academy.
“He went to a Title I school, so I figured there was more kids to help,” she said.
She collected 180 book bags in 2018, four months after Michael’s death. In 2019, she received 250.
The pandemic prevented her from collecting book bags in 2020.
So far this year, Bradley said she’s collected over 500 book bags. She distributed them on Aug. 7 because of parents’ concerns about COVID-19.
‘He was such a giving child’
Michael was a good and humble child who always wanted to help the next person, Bradley said.
“If Michael would’ve made it through that fire, for a fact, he would have went to school and told everybody he was in a fire and what you’re supposed to do to get out of it,” she said.
Michael wouldn’t get in trouble at school, except when he tried to help his friends solve math problems or do other school work when he wasn’t supposed to, Bradley said.
“He was such a giving child and free spirit who loved his family,” she said. “I’m just trying to keep his legacy alive not just so he’s not forgotten, but also so people can learn so much through his story.”
‘A bigger purpose’
Bradley contacted Charlotte Fire Department officials and told them about the book bag drive.
“I told them I wanted to do something more productive than me crying and being depressed that my son is gone,” Bradley said.
After meeting with firefighters at CFD headquarters, Bradley created Michael’s House, a nonprofit that promotes fire safety for children and families.
“I’m an advocate for smoke detectors, so make sure they work,” Bradley said. “Make sure there are fire safety plans. My son died scared because he didn’t know what to do.”
Cooking fires are the No. 1 cause of fires in Charlotte, fire Capt. Jackie Gilmore told the Observer.
“This is not just a Charlotte problem, but a Nationwide problem,” he said in an email. “Mrs. Bradley is an advocate for the Charlotte Fire Department in making sure there’s working smoke alarms in every home in Charlotte.”
To show her appreciation, Bradley goes to Fire Station 43 every April 8 and Aug. 19 and cooks for the firefighters — including Gilmore — who tried saving her son’s life.
“I was really humbled by the fact that they tried,” Bradley said. “Every situation isn’t going to be a success story unfortunately, and unfortunately I took the loss, but I felt like if I came together with them then we’d have a bigger purpose to serve.”
The firefighters went to the hospital to provide moral support as Michael fought for his life, Bradley said.
“They have supported me 1,000%,” she said.
This year, Bradley plans on doing a coat drive for Christmas.
“Any way to give back to the community, I would love to take ideas from the community and find out what they need from Michael’s House, or even events that are coming up we can take part in,” she said. “I just want to continue to get the community involved every year.”
What children should do in a fire
Here are some tips from KidsHealth that children can follow if they encounter a fire:
▪ Practice home fire drills and have emergency plans memorized.
▪ Know all routes out of the home.
▪ Be mindful of safety tips — including not opening the door if smoke is coming from underneath it, or if the doorknob is hot or very warm.
▪ Stay low if smoke is visible in the home. Smoke naturally rises, so staying low could prevent possible smoke inhalation.
▪ Yell for help if all routes out of the home are blocked.
▪ Stop, drop to the ground, cover the face with both hands and roll if cloths catch on fire.
▪ Prevent children from playing with matches, lighters and other fire sources.
