THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503100183
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Close-Up
SOURCE: Rebecca Myers
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
When Lonnie Blow pushed the door open and felt the initial blast of heat and smoke, his first thought was, ``Whoa! I can't go in there! That's too much heat!' ''
But behind him he could hear the frantic screams of a desperate mother, ``My baby! My baby! Please save my baby.''
Inside his head, a voice said, ``Do what you can.''
Because Blow listened to that voice, 3-year-old Majeekah Milton is alive today.
Blow, a social studies teacher at Emily Spong School, was grading papers Thursday morning, Jan. 26, when he heard someone yell that a house across the street was on fire.
That's when he saw the child's mother, Peggy Milton, stagger out of her Piedmont Avenue house, black smoke billowing from her mouth. She was pleading for help for her daughter, trapped inside.
``After I got in the house, I said, `Uh oh, maybe I've gone too far. Maybe I'm not going to make it out of here,' '' recalled Blow, who entered the home on his stomach. ``Those thoughts went through my mind, but the voice said to me, `Do what you can. I'll take care of you.' ''
So holding his breath and slithering on his belly, Blow followed the child's cries.
``I could hear the cry,'' said Blow, of Norfolk. ``I couldn't see anything, so I followed the sound.''
Eyes burning and watering, Blow forged on.
``When I got to what I thought was the bedroom, I took my first deep breath - it wasn't deep, but it was a breath - and smoke went up my nose and down my throat. It cut off all my wind. I couldn't breathe out, I couldn't breathe in,'' he said.
At that point, Blow thought he was going to die.
``I swallowed and the smoke just burned my throat. But I said, `Well, I hear the sound, so I have to keep going.' ''
Still crawling, Blow kept going until he got close enough to the child to grab her ankle. He then pulled the little girl toward him, laid her over his shoulder and began his exit.
``My first thought then was to get up and run out of the house,'' Blow said.
But Blow didn't follow his first instinct. And it's a good thing. The fire inspectors told him later that the heat at the top of the room was about 1,000 degrees. Had Blow stood up, both he and Majeekah would have died instantly, he was told.
When Blow and the child emerged from the burning home, the mother was in hysterics.
``She was still upset, screaming, kind of shaking a little,'' he said.
Six weeks after the fire, the mother and child - and their good Samaritan - are all fine. The mother spent nearly a month in the hospital; the baby only 24 hours. Blow was treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital and released the day of the fire.
In hindsight, would Blow do it all over again if he had to?
``People ask me that all the time!'' he said, laughing. ``It's funny because I did a similar thing at the detention center about eight years ago.''
Blow, a counselor at Norfolk Detention Center for 12 years, once saved a girl from a fire in her room.
``It was different, though, because the girl was in a room. It wasn't like a house. It was just one single room, so I kind of slid in there on my stomach and pulled her out of the room.''
Blow, 35, is a 1978 graduate of Frederick Military Academy and a 1982 graduate of Virginia Wesleyan College. In addition to his work as a teacher and counselor, Blow has coached basketball at Maury High School for 10 years.
At a City Council meeting last month, Blow was awarded a Portsmouth Medal of Honor. But the medal pales in comparison to the special words 3-year-old Majeekah had for him after a brief visit late last month.
``The little baby said to me, `You were crawling. You picked me up,' '' said Blow, the father of a 7-year-old son.
That was all the thanks Blow needed, he said.
Name: Lonnie Blow Jr.
Nicknames: Junnie (to my family) and Blow (to my friends)
Birthplace: Philadelphia
Birthdate: Aug. 25, 1959
Occupation: Teacher, coach, counselor, coordinator of summer programs for ODU
What other job than your own would you like? Head basketball coach at a major university (UCLA, Michigan, University of Virginia, Maryland, Old Dominion University)
Marital status: Single
Children: Kenneth D. ``K.D.'' Blow, 7
Fondest childhood memory: Game-winning shot, Frederick Military Academy vs. Norfolk Catholic
First concert: Earth, Wind and Fire, 1978, William and Mary Hall
What song or book title best describes your life? ``Keep Your Head to the Sky,'' a song by Earth, Wind and Fire
If you won the lottery, what's the very first thing you'd buy? A luxurious home with a swimming pool, basketball court and movie theater
If you could trade places for just one day with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? President Bill Clinton. We cannot continue to cut federally funded programs that help people here and continue to send money to help other countries.
Biggest accomplishment: Saving the life of Majeekah Milton on Jan. 26, 1995
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Slow down and not be so busy
Perfect way to spend the day: Hanging out with K.D.; cruising on the highway on a beautiful sunny day listening to some jazz
I can't resist: Fine foods
Favorite Portsmouth restaurant: The Circle
Favorite Portsmouth hangout: Portside
Biggest problem facing Portsmouth: Lack of tourist attractions
If you had three wishes for Portsmouth, what would they be?
New and improved public housing, apartments and townhouses
A mall (jobs)
A Kings Dominion-type amusement park (jobs)
Other than its small-town atmosphere, what do you like about living in Portsmouth? Portsmouth as a city has a family atmosphere ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
by CNB