Chyna Cambell,12, was honored by the Prince George's Fire Department for her calm demeanor while notifying a 911 operator about an apartment fire./Photo Courtesy of Prince George's Fire DepartmentA 12-year –old girl in Forestville, Md., has received praise and a prestigious honor from the Prince George's Fire Department.
Chyna Campbell, a 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.
On the afternoon of Oct. 27, Chyna called 911 to report a fire in her building at 2718 Lorring Drive in the Doral Apartment complex. Campbell calmly explained that a family was trapped on the balcony.
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, and 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.
Meanwhile, about 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.
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 are providing assistance to the displaced residents.
