ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, July 26, 1996 TAG: 9607260059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: HAMPTON
SOURCE: Newport News Daily Press
Redheaded 7-year-old Randy Osborne was sitting in a few inches of bath water - his 4-year-old brother, Devin, on the toilet nearby and 5-month-old baby brother, Ian, asleep on the living room sofa - when he smelled smoke Wednesday night.
Then Randy heard Ian cry. He knew immediately what it was.
``There was a fire,'' Randy said. It would be the second time in a year that flames would destroy the family's home.
It was 9:15 p.m. when Randy stepped from the tub, told Devin to get out of the house and ran for his baby brother, 3 feet from the bathroom door.
Cradling Ian in both arms, Randy stopped only for a second to look at the flames engulfing the kitchen at the other end of the living room. He was scared, but ``not that much,'' he would say later.
With Devin close behind, Randy ran out the front door with the baby.
Randy's aunt and grandmother were standing talking in the front yard of the duplex. Randy's grandmother, who was baby sitting the children while their mother was at work, had left supper cooking in the kitchen for just a few minutes while she went outside to talk to her daughter-in-law.
Debbie Osborne, who lives in the other half of the duplex, smelled smoke and turned to see her nephews running out.
``He comes out naked, with the baby and his 4-year-old brother,'' Osborne said. ``He kept his head better than I kept mine.''
As she went to find a T-shirt for Randy, Osborne's husband, Bill, dragged a garden hose into the house and kept the fire from spreading until firefighters arrived.
He was later treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation.
Wearing borrowed clothes Thursday, Randy spent the day playing with his cousins next door, politely recounting the story for whomever asked, and taking good-natured teasing of being the neighborhood's ``toothless hero'' with a toothless smile.
``I am so proud of you,'' said Randy's mother, Samantha Brock, as she sat on the soot-stained sofa next to the pillow little Ian had been sleeping against, hugging Randy and kissing his forehead through the tousled red hair. |Newport News Daily Press|
HAMPTON - Redheaded 7-year-old Randy Osborne was sitting in a few inches of bath water - his 4-year-old brother Devin on the toilet nearby and 5-month-old baby brother Ian asleep on the living room sofa - when he smelled smoke Wednesday night.
Then Randy heard Ian cry. He knew immediately what it was.
``There was a fire,'' Randy said. It would be the second time in a year that flames would destroy the family's home.
It was 9:15 p.m. when Randy stepped from the tub, told Devin to get out of the house and ran for his baby brother 3 feet from the bathroom door.
Cradling Ian in both arms, Randy stopped only for a second to look at the flames engulfing the kitchen at the other end of the living room. He was scared, but ``not that much,'' he would say later.
With Devin close behind, Randy ran out the front door with the baby.
Randy's aunt and grandmother were standing talking in the front yard of the duplex on Sergeant Street, not far from Buckroe Beach. Randy's grandmother, who was baby sitting the children while their mother was at work, had left supper cooking in the kitchen for just a few minutes while she went outside to talk to her daughter-in-law.
Debbie Osborne, who lives in the other half of the duplex, smelled smoke and turned to see her nephews running out.
``He comes out naked, with the baby and his 4-year-old brother,'' Osborne said. ``He kept his head better than I kept mine.''
As she went to find a T-shirt for Randy, Osborne's husband Bill dragged a garden hose into the house and kept the fire from spreading until firefighters arrived.
He was later treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation and released.
Wearing borrowed clothes on Thursday, Randy spent the day playing with his cousins next door, politely recounting the story for whoever asked, and taking good-natured teasing of being the neighborhood's ``toothless hero'' with a toothless smile.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB