AVENEL, New Jersey (WHDH) — A 6-year-old girl is being called a hero after saving her family from a house fire in Avenel, New Jersey early Sunday morning.
Flames broke out on the stovetop on the first floor of the home while the family of four slept around 2:30 a.m.
Madalyn Karlbon recalled smelling smoke and hearing the fire alarm.
“I was sleeping; then I woke up. I went to go downstairs and try to wake up mommy and I called daddy’s name,” the young girl recalled.
Her father, James Karlbon, had been a firefighter for 17 years and said he didn’t even hear the smoke detectors going off.
“I heard my daughter screaming, ‘There’s a fire! There’s a fire!’ So I jumped out of bed and realized the house is full of smoke already,” he said. “I’m used to always going in not running out.”
The family safely evacuated thanks to Madalyn’s quick thinking. She had just learned about fire safety in her first-grade class.
“She saved our lives,” James Karlbon said. “Without her, I probably wouldn’t be alive today.”
A preliminary investigation suggested that Madalyn’s mother had fallen asleep on the first floor while something was cooking on the stove.
The fire was contained to the kitchen and part of the dining room.
The home has been deemed uninhabitable due to the soot and smoke damage.
The Avenel Fire Department is collecting donations for the family.
Monetary donations can be mailed to:
THE AVENEL FIRE COMPANY COMMUNITY FUND
346 Avenel St.
Avenel, NJ 07001
Checks, clothes, food and other donations can be dropped off at the firehouse Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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