The parents of the eight children had put the three teens in charge of the younger children while they went to dinner on April 15.Wood’s two younger sisters and Harrison’s two younger siblings were part of the group upstairs. Harrison and Perez had been using hoverboards, also called self-balancing scooters, earlier in the day. They plugged them into a wall socket in the home’s hallway to recharge. Then suddenly there was an explosion.“It sounded like one of the kids threw a toy down the stairs,” Harrison said. The trio, led by Perez, walked into the hallway.“I saw this bright yellow light, so I walked towards it,” Perez recalled. When she realized what she was seeing, “I yelled fire, fire!”One of the hoverboard batteries had apparently exploded. Sparks and flames were shooting from it. A couple of the younger children, attracted to the commotion, started to come down the stairs. Wood told the children to stay upstairs. When the sparks stopped, he ran up to gather the children. Perez and Harrison’s first instinct was to get water to douse the fire.“But then I realized that’s not going to work,” Perez said. Perez headed outside with a couple of kids and began to gather them all in one spot. First, she had to kick down a baby gate. Within seconds, the burning hoverboard set fire to coats and jackets hanging just above them.“Every time I looked at the fire, it was bigger,” Harrison said. Before Wood and Harrison could get all of the kids out of the house, a couple of the 12-year-olds tried to shove a mattress out of a window to jump on.“Once we got all the kids out, I did a headcount to make sure we had gotten everyone,” Perez said.One was missing.“I looked at Trinity, and I said ‘Jayda’s still in the house’,” Perez said. Jayda Blue was one of three 5-year-old triplets. At that moment the teens heard screams coming from inside the house.“I didn’t even think,” Harrison said. “I turned around and ran back up the stairs.” Wood followed her. By that time, the fire had spread to the walls, ceiling and stairs. Thick black smoke was curling up the stairwell and filling the upper floor. Harrison couldn’t see. The whole upstairs was pitch black,” Harrison said. “But I knew my way around that house in the dark so I knew where I was going.”Harrison found the girl in a loft, frozen in terror. To get out of the house, Harrison had to throw Jayda over a portion of the burning stairs and then jump herself. The little girl was covered in soot by the time she got outside. Wood tried calling 911 but he couldn’t get through. Too many neighbours on the street were already calling. Shortly after she got Jayda out of the house, Harrison heard her dog, Sandy, yelping. Harrison turned away at this point in the retelling, tears streaming down her face. Harrison, Perez said, was about to re-enter the now fully involved house to save Sandy.“I told her, ‘Trinity you can’t go back inside.’ ”Together, Wood and Perez restrained Harrison. Sandy and another dog that belonged to a friend died in the fire. Two other dogs and two cats survived. The fire became so intense it caught the two houses on either side on fire. Perez and Wood knocked on their doors.“The guy was mad at me, thinking it was a joke''. Fortunately, everyone got out safely and no one was hurt. Wood said he couldn’t sleep for the first three weeks following the fire.“I still can’t sleep through the night,” Harrison said. “I wake up in the middle of the night in terror.”The teens say they are slowly getting better. Wood’s sisters Julianna, 12, and Gabriella, 6, now have more than just a big brother.“He’s our hero,” Julianna said.“He’s my hero,” Gabriella said as her brother held her in his arms.
The parents of the eight children had put the three teens in charge of the younger children while they went to dinner on April 15.Wood’s two younger sisters and Harrison’s two younger siblings were part of the group upstairs. Harrison and Perez had been using hoverboards, also called self-balancing scooters, earlier in the day. They plugged them into a wall socket in the home’s hallway to recharge. Then suddenly there was an explosion.“It sounded like one of the kids threw a toy down the stairs,” Harrison said. The trio, led by Perez, walked into the hallway.“I saw this bright yellow light, so I walked towards it,” Perez recalled. When she realized what she was seeing, “I yelled fire, fire!”One of the hoverboard batteries had apparently exploded. Sparks and flames were shooting from it. A couple of the younger children, attracted to the commotion, started to come down the stairs. Wood told the children to stay upstairs. When the sparks stopped, he ran up to gather the children. Perez and Harrison’s first instinct was to get water to douse the fire.“But then I realized that’s not going to work,” Perez said. Perez headed outside with a couple of kids and began to gather them all in one spot. First, she had to kick down a baby gate. Within seconds, the burning hoverboard set fire to coats and jackets hanging just above them.“Every time I looked at the fire, it was bigger,” Harrison said. Before Wood and Harrison could get all of the kids out of the house, a couple of the 12-year-olds tried to shove a mattress out of a window to jump on.“Once we got all the kids out, I did a headcount to make sure we had gotten everyone,” Perez said.One was missing.“I looked at Trinity, and I said ‘Jayda’s still in the house’,” Perez said. Jayda Blue was one of three 5-year-old triplets. At that moment the teens heard screams coming from inside the house.“I didn’t even think,” Harrison said. “I turned around and ran back up the stairs.” Wood followed her. By that time, the fire had spread to the walls, ceiling and stairs. Thick black smoke was curling up the stairwell and filling the upper floor. Harrison couldn’t see. The whole upstairs was pitch black,” Harrison said. “But I knew my way around that house in the dark so I knew where I was going.”Harrison found the girl in a loft, frozen in terror. To get out of the house, Harrison had to throw Jayda over a portion of the burning stairs and then jump herself. The little girl was covered in soot by the time she got outside. Wood tried calling 911 but he couldn’t get through. Too many neighbours on the street were already calling. Shortly after she got Jayda out of the house, Harrison heard her dog, Sandy, yelping. Harrison turned away at this point in the retelling, tears streaming down her face. Harrison, Perez said, was about to re-enter the now fully involved house to save Sandy.“I told her, ‘Trinity you can’t go back inside.’ ”Together, Wood and Perez restrained Harrison. Sandy and another dog that belonged to a friend died in the fire. Two other dogs and two cats survived. The fire became so intense it caught the two houses on either side on fire. Perez and Wood knocked on their doors.“The guy was mad at me, thinking it was a joke''. Fortunately, everyone got out safely and no one was hurt. Wood said he couldn’t sleep for the first three weeks following the fire.“I still can’t sleep through the night,” Harrison said. “I wake up in the middle of the night in terror.”The teens say they are slowly getting better. Wood’s sisters Julianna, 12, and Gabriella, 6, now have more than just a big brother.“He’s our hero,” Julianna said.“He’s my hero,” Gabriella said as her brother held her in his arms.