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Boy who saved baby sister from fire gets replacement Christmas gifts

Operation FireHEAT

Courtesy of Operation FireH.E.A.T.

Operation FireH.E.A.T. and Henderson firefighters delivered Christmas gifts Tuesday night to the Gire family after a fire displaced the family and their possessions on Jan. 16. The non-profit organization teams up with firefighters during the holiday season to help families who are displaced due to damaging house fires.

Fire

Bobby Gire and his family lost a lot in the fire that ripped through his Henderson home on Jan. 16, including Christmas gifts that belonged to his 12-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.

But it could have been a lot worse if his son wasn’t at home babysitting his sister.

Upon smelling smoke in the garage of the house in the 500 block of Cosmic Star Place, near Eastern Avenue and St. Rose Parkway, Gire’s son quickly grabbed his baby sister from her room and kept her underneath the smoke as they ran out the front door. Without his shoes on, the boy ran to a neighbor’s house and reported the fire.

“That showed a lot of maturity,” Henderson Fire Battalion Chief Doug Koopman said. “A lot of kids would have gotten scared, I think. To be able to make that good of a decision and remember his sister was upstairs, I thought that was very impressive.”

With that in mind, Operation Fire Holiday Emergency Assistance Team (H.E.A.T.) and the Henderson firefighters who extinguished the fire decided to reward Gire’s son Tuesday night for his quick thinking and bravery by delivering replacement Christmas gifts to him and his sister.

He “lost all his toys and everything, and that’s our main purpose is to replace the toys for the kids,” Fred Wechselberger, president and treasurer of Operation FireH.E.A.T., said.

Wechselberger said the non-profit organization teams up with firefighters to deliver toys and necessities to families displaced as the result of fires around the holiday season.

Technically, Operation FireH.E.A.T. only assists families until Jan. 15 but made an exception for Gire and his family.

“After I told (Operation FireH.E.A.T.) that they pretty much lost everything in the fire, Fred put out the notice and nobody had any issues with extending it by a day,” Koopman said.

And the Gire family was certainly grateful. As two fire trucks pulled up in front of Gire’s temporary residence on Eagle Scout Way, near Horizon Ridge Parkway and Gibson Road, an emotional Gire was on the verge of tears as his son marveled at his new gifts — including a new bike and electric guitar.

“You guys did your job to the fullest,” Gire said to the firefighters. “I almost feel like I’m taking advantage; we’ve been getting so much support lately.”

Wechselberger and the firefighters then gave Gire’s son a tour of a fire engine and showed him the firefighters’ equipment. Since he already saved one person in a fire, Gire’s son was encouraged to volunteer for the fire department in the future.

“Another few years until the Explorer program and you can learn how to be a firefighter,” Koopman said.

This was the ninth family Operation FireH.E.A.T. has assisted this past holiday season, spending more than $13,000 on the nine families.

Gire spent much of the time thanking each volunteer and firefighter for all of their help. But knowing his son had the courage to save his sister was still the most important thing on his mind.

“In the face of tragedy he preserved life, and that’s all you can ask for,” Gire said.

As the trucks drove away, Gire joked with Koopman saying he hoped he’d never have to see another fire engine. But Gire’s girlfriend had one exception.

“Well, unless my son starts driving one,” she said.

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