Massachusetts
“She was so smart”: Nine-year-old saves her entire family’s life
The US weather service recommended after Jayline’s rescue act that all houses be equipped with working carbon monoxide detectors
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When her father cried out for help and her mother passed out, a nine-year-old from Massachusetts did just the right thing and managed to have all of her family members survived.
A nine-year-old girl in Brockton, Massachusetts, saved her family’s life. The girl’s parents were passed out by a gush of carbon monoxide from a generator – which they had to use due to a power outage – according to CNN.
Jayline Barbosa B. was in bed on October 28th when she heard her father scream and ran over to him. He was standing with her unconscious mother. “I heard my father scream and saw my mother pass out,” she said in an interview with the TV station WFXT. Shortly afterwards, her father was also overwhelmed by the colorless and odorless gas.
Face ID to unlock the phone
In no time at all, she grabbed his phone to call 911, the emergency number in the United States. Her father’s cell phone – an iPhone – was locked, but she was able to hold it to his face to unlock it with Face ID. To do this, the device scans facial features and compares them with previously saved images of the user.
Her mother Marcelina B. told CNN that her daughter then picked up her 7-year-old sister to get help from a neighbor together. She added that the family had been without electricity for about three days after a storm and therefore borrowed a generator for their house. They put the generator near the back door in front of their house and only let it run for a few minutes before turning it off because it was too loud for them.
Carbon monoxide detectors required
Then she and her husband unplugged all devices and then stored the generator in the house. They thought that would be the end of the matter, but in retrospect they were taught otherwise: the generator was far too close to the house when it was in use. The U.S. Meteorological Service recommends that a generator be at least 20 feet away from doors, windows, and vents while in use, and recommends that homes be equipped with working carbon monoxide detectors.
Marcelina B. got a headache and felt dizzy and nauseous, but initially thought of a migraine. Then she woke up in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli confirmed to CNN that a total of five people were taken from the house to the hospital for treatment. Rescuers found the generator in the house and noted an enormously increased level of carbon monoxide throughout the building, Nardelli reported. B’s husband is doing better now and she emphasizes that Jayline’s quick action saved the family’s life: “She was so smart (…) If she hadn’t got help right away, I don’t know what would have happened.”
Incidentally, Brockton’s fire brigade was not the only one of this kind. In about 20 more cases of carbon monoxide in the past few days, she had to come to the rescue, summed up fire chief Nardelli.