WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 5-year-old boy from Warren is being hailed a hero after he woke up early Friday morning and alerted his family of eight about a house fire.
He woke up the rest of his family and everyone got out safely.
Last Friday morning just after 4:40 a.m. near 9 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue, 5-year-old Juwan Perry Jr. woke up to the smell of smoke.
“I started coughing," the young boy said.
He then saw flames and quickly yelled for his mother, Britteny Lee, at the top of his lungs.
"I instantly jumped up and ran," Lee said. "By the time I made it to their room, everything was on fire."
Lee worked against the flames to get all seven of her children out of the home.
“If it wasn’t for Juwan, we probably all would be dead," Lee said through tears.
The Warren Fire Department responded and got the fire under control. The apartment home is a total loss and the family is now living at a hotel for the next few days with the help of the American Red Cross.
Warren fire is still investigating the direct cause but says it does not look to be suspicious.
Lee says she plugged in a space heater before she went to bed and fears it may have caused the flames.
“I just never want us to go through that again ever. I will never buy another space heater in my life," she said. "We lost everything."
While the Warren Fire Department investigates, there is one thing they know for sure: the quick-thinking actions of Juwan is the only reason the entire family survived.
"If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be here. He is my hero always," Lee said.
When asked what led Juwan to help his family that night despite being terrified, he had a simple answer.
“Because I love everybody," Juwan said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help replace items lost in the fire.
