Firefighters and medics arrived on the scene and Chyna advised everyone to stay away from the building. Elemihe and family had gone to the balcony after finding the enclosed stairwell filled with smoke and heat preventing their escape from the building.
After receiving as many details as possible about the fire, 911 call-takers gave instructions to Chyna about what to do and what to say to the trapped occupants.
Nneka Elemihe holding 2-year-old son, Aidan, and her mother, Rosemary, were saved by firefighters thanks to the efforts of 12-year old Chyna Campbell who made a 911 call. (Photo Courtesy of the Prince George’s County Fire Department )Approximately three dozen firefighters, paramedics and incident commanders responded to the emergency and discovered a kitchen fire in a second floor apartment.
Firefighters extinguished the fire in 10 minutes, attributing the cause to unattended cooking.
A few days later, Chyna received praise and a prestigious honor from the Prince George's Fire Department. The 7th-grader at Freeman Middle School, was presented with the "Fire Chief's Award " on Tuesday, Oct. 31, by Chief Marc S. Bashoor for her life-saving actions nearly a week ago.
Fire officials said it was her calm demeanor and precise instructions to the 911 operator which provided firefighters with information that enabled them to quickly rescue the family and extinguish the fire.
Chief Bashoor and EMS personnel from District Heights Station 826, along with Campbell's family, visited her class for the award presentation. During their visit, the recording of Campbell's request for assistance was played to provide students a lesson on how to properly make a 911 call.
No injuries were reported and losses were estimated at $20,000. However, residents from two apartments, including eight adults and three children, were displaced because of fire damage.
The Prince George's Citizen Services Unit and the American Red Cross provided assistance to the displaced residents.