11-Year-Old Bob Tears Out of His Neighbor's Grip and Rushes into Burning House to Rescue Friend — Story of the Day

Bob and his neighbors’ parents went to the theater, leaving them alone for the night. When they got bored, Bob went back to his house to find board games. But when he came out, his friends’ house was on fire. No one could stop Bob from running inside to save his friend, even at the risk of his own life.

“Are you sure you’re all going to be ok?” Bob’s mom asked as she arranged her jacket next to her husband. Bob was going to spend time with his twin friends, Mark and Mindy, while their parents went to see a play.

They were all the same age, 11 years old, and it was the first time they were being trusted with staying home by themselves. Bob had brought over several movies, and his mom bought microwave popcorn, Doritos, soda, and tons of snacks, so they could enjoy themselves without touching the kitchen.

The pizzas had just arrived, and all the parents gathered at Mark and Mindy’s front door to put their coats on and exit. But Bob’s mom hesitated.

“Don’t worry, Mom. We’re all responsible, and we’re not kids anymore. I swear! We’re almost teenagers!” Bob insisted, nodding his head rapidly and raising his eyebrows at his friends. Mark and Mindy both followed suit, trying to convince the adults that everything would be fine.

“Besides, if anything happens, we have Scooter here to protect us,” Mindy chimed in, petting their big emotional support dog. Mark and Bob said “yeah” simultaneously, and the moms smiled at each other.

“Ok, kids. But just in case anything happens, and you can’t contact us, you need to call our neighbor, Mr. Headwick. Ok? He’s promised to keep an eye on you from afar,” the twins’ mom said, using her finger to get her point across. Once again, the kids nodded, and the parents finally left.

“LET’S HAVE FUN!” Mark yelled, and they put on some music, jumping around the living room but still trying not to break anything. They ate their pizzas and put on a movie, but they got bored quickly.

“Staying alone is not as fun as I thought. I wanna do something more,” Mindy spoke up after 15 minutes into the movie. “Maybe we can go walk Scooter.”

“We can’t do that. Remember, Mr. Headwick is watching us from his house, and he’ll tell our parents about it,” Mark replied to his sister. “I don’t want them to stop trusting us. It’s cool that they left us alone without a boring babysitter.”

“I know. But Mindy is kinda right,” Bob agreed, pursing his lips and thinking. “I don’t feel like watching movies today. But I have Scrabble at my house. I also have Clue, Monopoly, Uno, and more. We can play those.”

“But you’d still have to go out there to get them,” Mark said, concerned.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be quick!” Bob insisted, and it was a promise.

After years of being bullied at school and having no friends, Bob was glad when the twins moved next door. Their parents became close too, and Bob couldn’t have been happier. He was not about to jeopardize this friendship by making the adults angry, but getting his games would take less than five minutes, and maybe Mr. Headwick would be distracted.

Bob exited his friends’ house and ran to his own across the street. They lived in a quiet suburban area in Cinco Ranch, Texas, and all the houses were already decorated for Christmas. The whole street was lit up, so there was nothing to fear about an 11-year-old being alone outside at night.

When he entered the house, Bob remembered that some of the games were stored in his parents' room. He started looking for them, but it was more complicated than expected. They were on the top part of their closet, and the kid would need a stool to reach them.

After reaching for the games, Bob went to his room and gathered more games there. The entire thing took around 15 minutes, and Bob exited his house with seven boxes in his hand. But he froze on his porch when he saw the twins’ home.

There was smoke coming from a window, and suddenly, an explosion happened inside. Bob threw the boxes in his backyard as he ran towards the fire. He noticed that Mark was sprinting outside, but there was no sign of Mindy and Scooter behind him.

“I thought Mindy was right behind me! I thought she was following! MINDY! MINDY!” Mark shouted when he turned around and didn’t see his sister. Bob knew what he had to do right away and started to sprint when a pair of arms caught him almost in mid-air.

“What do you think you’re doing, kid? You’re not going back inside! You stay out here. I already called 911,” Mr. Headwick scolded, his arms tightly holding onto the kid and refusing to let go.

“Let me go! Mindy is inside! There’s no time to waste! What about Scooter?! I have to save them!” the kid yelled, squirming to free himself from the man's tight grasp.

Bob used all his strength to pull away from Mr. Headwick, and finally managed to tear out of his arms and run as fast as he could inside the house to look for Mindy. He had to go through the living room, which was almost covered in smoke. But the fire was actually in the kitchen entrance, where Mindy and Scooter were trapped. It was spreading quickly, so Bob had to act fast, jumping through a fiery area to reach them, but it was like he had no fear at this moment.

Mindy smiled and cried when she recognized him. “Bob! You’re here! You came! We can’t go through that! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO! I WANT MY MOM!” the girl cried, speaking louder and louder as more words came out.

She was right. It was dangerous going through the fire which was spreading around the kitchen. He didn’t want to put Mindy through it. There was a locked back door near the kitchen, but the keys were nowhere to be found. Bob had an idea and grabbed a big cup from a cabinet. He threw it at the kitchen window, and fortunately, it broke.

He removed his T-shirt and placed it on the window sill covered in broken glass. With Mindy's help, they worked simultaneously to lift Scooter outside, but that was easy. Mindy was next, and then she pulled Bob out through the window before they both ran to the front yard, reaching Mark and Mr. Headwick.

“MINDY!” Mark screamed and held his sister tightly. Scooter was right beside them. Clearly, that dog stayed inside to protect Mindy because he could’ve easily exited on his own.

“That was really stupid, kid. You could’ve died,” Mr. Headwick scolded, but he gave him a side-eye. “But it was courageous. You should be a firefighter.”

Suddenly, they heard the sirens of a fire truck and an ambulance getting closer. The first responders got to work immediately, trying to put the fire out. Bob watched them intently when his vision blurred, and his head felt too heavy. He fainted, and the twins shouted in alarm.

The paramedics immediately came to Bob's rescue and checked him out. Mr. Headwick had also called their parents, and they arrived at that moment. “BOB!” Bob’s mom screamed.

“Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ve got the kid. The older gentleman told us he went into the house to save the girl, so it would be best to bring all the children to the hospital for some testing. Follow us to Houston Methodist Emergency Care Center,” the paramedic told the adults, and they all nodded worriedly.

Although Bob hadn’t felt his injuries because of the adrenaline, his leg had second-degree burns. He also inhaled too much smoke, so they gave him oxygen to recuperate. Mindy needed some oxygen too, but she was mostly fine. Mark was in perfect condition because was able to exit the house when the fire started.

They returned home a few hours later, and the adults thanked Mr. Headwick for watching out for the kids. Apparently, the firefighters believed their Christmas tree lights short-circuited and caused the tiny explosion.

The twins said they were in the kitchen when they smelled smoke and thought something was burning, not noticing that the Christmas tree sitting next to the kitchen entrance started everything. Mark told his sister to follow him outside, but Mindy was paralyzed in fear after the explosion.

In the end, their parents couldn’t be angry at them. They were not at fault, and the twins thanked Bob profusely for risking his life for Mindy. Bob’s mom was unhappy about that part, but she let it go because they were all alive and safe.

The boy’s injuries healed quicker than expected, but Bob never forgot that night. The adrenaline and the feeling of saving people stuck with him. Therefore, he followed Mr. Headwick’s advice when he got older and became a firefighter himself years later.

What can we learn from this story?

• Accidents can happen at any time. The kids’ parents couldn’t be angry because the fire was caused by something they couldn’t prevent. You have to teach your children what to do in those cases and hope for the best.
• Bravery is impressive, but safety should come first. Although Bob helped save Mindy and was praised, civilians, especially children, should be wary of making impulsive decisions that could risk their lives or cause damage that could otherwise have been prevented.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who decided to spend Christmas with his neighbor.

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