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Firefighters throw trash out from a second-floor apartment that burned in
the Hickory Farms Apartments on Friday morning. There were no injuries.
Firefighter is Champion in more than name to mom and baby
By Alex Doniach
April 14, 2007
Thomas Champion got into the firefighting business to save lives, but
rarely does he actually pull people from burning buildings.
So, when the Memphis Fire Department first private reached the burning
Hickory Farms Apartment complex Friday morning and saw a woman trapped on
a balcony, clutching her baby, Champion sprung into action.
He jumped off truck No. 26 and grabbed a ladder tall enough to reach the
woman standing 14 feet above ground.
"Please stay calm, I'm going to get you and your baby down," Champion
yelled out to the scared young mother, Danielle Watkins, 22.
All around him, firefighting crews worked to battle the flames that
consumed the two-story, wood-frame apartment complex at 3838 Hickory
Farms.
As Champion, 37, crept up the latter, he reassured Watkins that
"everything would be OK." He could see Watkins was shaking and anxious.
"I tried to put some calm to the chaos," Champion said. "If she freaked
out, she could have put both our lives in jeopardy."
The rescue came at the end of a hard week for firefighters.
Early Tuesday, four members of a Raleigh family died in a fast-moving
apartment fire. Killed were father Ambrose Weah, 46, and his son, Andy
Weah, 5; and two cousins, Michael Logan, 5, and Josephine Logan, 8.
A dozen people lived in the Weah family's three-bedroom, two-bath
apartment. They were refugees from Liberia and would have been in America
three years today.
Funeral services will be April 28 at Raleigh Assembly of God Church, 3683
Austin Peay.
Friday morning's fire started at 9:40 in the apartment next to Watkins'.
Food left unattended on a stove was most likely the fire's cause,
according to department spokesman Lt. Keith Staples.
Although flames didn't penetrate Watkins' apartment, they had crept up to
her door, trapping her and baby Jayden Luellen inside.
Once Champion reached the balcony, he reached for Watkins' son and tucked
him inside his coat. The baby cried loudly as Champion slowly edged back
down the ladder.
Then Champion then went back for mom.
"They jump on you sometimes, but she didn't," Champion said. "I held her
hand as she stepped onto the ladder."
Champion patted Watkins' back to comfort her, letting her know he was
behind, all the way to the ground.
Once Watkins had her child back in her arms, "she thanked me and let me
know she appreciated it," Champion said.
The fire was knocked down by about 10:10 a.m. No one was injured except
for an apartment owner who burned his hand while attempting to put out the
flames before firefighters arrived, Staples said.
- Alex Doniach: 529-5231
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