Jodi-Ann Gilpin, Gleaner Writer Published: Saturday | August 16, 2014
A stunning act of bravery displayed by 11-year-old Toni-Ann Miller has landed her a Badge of Honour for Gallantry, which she will receive at the National Honours and Awards Ceremony, come October.
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| Toni-Ann Miller who rescued two boys from a burning house. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer |
On her way home from school on the afternoon of May 15, 2013, Miller, along with her friends in the community of Mount Hermon, St Catherine, noticed thick black smoke coming through the windows of a nearby house. They also heard a child crying inside. Without a moment's hesitation, and with no thought of her personal safety, Miller ran into the house and pulled the child to safety.
In an interview with The Gleaner yesterday, Miller said she, at that point, realised that her task was not done.
"When I took the boy outside, he told me that his brother was sleeping inside. So I ran inside again and saw the bed burning and grabbed him and carried him outside," she said.
Due to her quick thinking, the older of the two brothers age six, escaped unhurt. The younger boy, age five, sustained minor burns to one of his arms.
As scary a situation as that would have been for an 11-year-old, Miller, who attends Good Hope Primary School in St Catherine, said she would do it all over again. And she's quick to shrug off praise. "I don't see it as a moment to celebrate, really. I just want to be in a position to offer any assistance I can whenever somebody needs help," she said.
"Somehow, I wasn't scared when I saw the fire. I saw the little boy at the gate and he was crying that his little brother was sleeping in the bed and I was saying to myself that I had to save him," she recalled. more
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