MURRAY, Utah — When Kylee Castro woke up Thursday morning, she had no idea who 9-year-old Leonidas Vigliotta was until she saw flames coming from a neighbor’s house.
A house that the young boy was in.
“I heard a smoke alarm I heard the beep beep beep and then I ran upstairs to see what happened and then I saw so much smoke, and then I went outside and then saw some fire, and then I got really, really, really scared,” he said.
Castro spotted the flames and called 911 when she saw the 9-year-old.
“I tried to get back into the house to see if everything was okay and then she said 'oh no no don’t go back in the house' and then she got me,” Vigliotta said.
“I saw him run out of the house and then he tried to run back in and so I just ran over and grabbed him and have kept him with me since, so I got a new little friend here,” Castro said.
The Murray City Fire Department said the fire started in a trailer parked on the side of the house, which moved into the garage, then the house.
Assistant Fire Chief Stephen Olson said if you see something, say something especially this time of year.
“If you see smoke in your neighborhood better safe than sorry call it in, and it can spread fast it’s doubling in size just by the second,” Olson said.
“I think a lot of times we think oh someone is probably already calling, somebody probably saw that already, and a lot of times maybe if we’re all thinking that and nobody actually calls then we don’t call and get what needs to be done,” Castro said.
It’s a call that anyone would be thankful for.
“Really, really, really, really times infinity really, really thankful,” Vigliotta said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Fire officials urge residents to make sure they have working smoke detectors, especially during the summer months.
