Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Akron judge Linda Kersker dies
DiLullo's closes doors after 63 years
Akron police arrest murder suspect within an hour
Portage man beaten at home, robbed of coins
Man fit for trial in rape of girl, 2
Akron judge in serious condition at Cleveland Clinic
Call center to cut 250 jobs in Akron
Rib, White and Blue is festival of tastes
UPDATE: Deadly motorcycle crash closes I-76
Blogs:
Pets:
Summit teams up with Rescue Waggin' to save dogs
The Heldenfiles:
I Hate "More To Love"
Patrick McManamon:
Ron Artest goes to the Lakers
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Northern Illinois
Browns Bulletin:
Single-game ticket sales begin July 11
Tribe Matters:
Tribe needs to slow down opponents
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Updated: Free Agency: Another Gone - Apparently
All Da King's Men:
IPCC Already Wrong About Global Warming
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Wow….Sarah Palin Resigns Governorship
Akron Law Café:
Abraham Lincoln and the Fourth of July
Varsity Letters:
Highland senior receives honor
See Jane Style:
Picnic Wear
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Hate Crime in Fort Worth Texas: "That F***t had it Coming"
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Linda asks-where is the Ohio Chautauqua?
Sound Check:
Rundgren fans rejoice!: Second night of AWATS at The Civic added
HRLite House:
Sport Psychology and Performance Consulting
Akron Gamer:
Hot link: Best of Nintendo at E3
Unknown youngster riding a bicycle is hailed for alerting residents of Garfield Street home to fire. One resident escapes, another does not
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Nov 01, 2008
Donna Little wants to say thank you to the boy on a bike who she believes saved her son's life.
When fire broke out in her home on Garfield Street in North Akron on the morning of Oct. 17, neighbors told her a young bicyclist alerted her husband and son.
''There was a little kid on a bike that saw the fire,'' said Donna Little, whose husband of 29 years, Thomas Matthew ''Matt'' Little, perished in the fire. '' . . . He jumped off the bike and kicked on the doors and windows and yelled, 'The house is on fire, the house is on fire!' ''
Matt Little must have heard the calls, she said, and pounded on the bedroom wall to wake up their 28-year-old son, Joshua, who left the Marine Corps in August after 10 years of service.
Joshua was able to escape the fire by climbing out a second- floor window onto the burning roof and then jumping to a Bronco truck that was down below.
An Akron Fire Department spokesman said firefighters had not heard the story of the child on the bike and therefore it was not on the reports about the fatal fire, which was started by an overloaded electrical outlet.
Donna Little, who was at her housekeeping job at St. Thomas Hospital when the fire broke out, said she heard about the boy from her brother and sister-in-law who lived next door and from another neighbor on her street.
''I would like to thank him because he probably got Matt awake,'' she said.
When Donna Little went back into the house after the fire, she saw her husband's hand prints from pounding on the wall to wake up their son.
''He had to make sure Josh got out,'' she said.
Her son heard his father's screams, she said, and tried to open his door but couldn't touch the doorknob because it was so hot.
Donna Little said the family had lived in the 104-year-old house on Garfield Street for 18 years and had been purchasing it on a land contract for 13 years. They still owed $17,000 on the house.
The people from whom she and her husband were purchasing the house had insurance on the home, she said. The fire department put the loss to the building at $50,000.
The family had no insurance to cover the $20,000 in personal contents lost in the blaze.
''We lost absolutely everything,'' Donna Little said. ''I am grateful I still have my son.''
She and Joshua now are living with daughter April Johnson and her family in Norton.
Matt Little, who worked for Straightline Drywall and RJS Homes in Barberton, was buried in a family cemetery near his hometown of Farmington, W.Va., four days after the fire.
Scott Price, general manager of RJS Homes, described Matt Little, a field technician for the company, as a ''very, very hard worker. He never complained when you asked him to do something. He took it upon himself to make sure things were done. He loved to talk. A very good guy. We dearly miss him.''
Donna Little said she and her family are getting by one day at a time.
''I cry and I pray,'' she said.
Donations to assist the family can be made to the T. Matt Little Memorial Fund at any FirstMerit Bank branch.
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Donna Little wants to say thank you to the boy on a bike who she believes saved her son's life.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
