An Alexandria three-year-old is being called a hero for alerting his father to a fire alarm going off in a neighboring apartment.
On the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 4, firefighters found that food was left cooking on the stove of an apartment in the Cameron Court of Alexandria complex, and then discovered that the resident of the apartment was experiencing a medical emergency.
“I heard the smoke alarm coming into my house, because someone was cooking,” the boy, Santiago Martin Carmack, told ALXnow.
It turns out that Santiago’s sharp ears ended up saving his neighbor’s life, and on Monday the boy was honored at Fire Station 205Â with a certificate of heroism, a medal, a plastic fire hat and a coloring book.
“It was definitely a life-saving intervention,” said AFD Captain Jeff Taylor. “What’s most unique is that everybody — the neighbors to the side, the neighbors above and below and across the street — were all home, but nobody else paid attention. In our day and age, we’ve got a lot of apathy. And nobody really paid attention to a smoke alarm going off except for a three-year-old, who told his dad.”
Santiago’s father “trusted his son and investigated and actually found somebody that really was having an emergency,” Taylor said.
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If you had a chance to enhance a child’s future with a time commitment of less than 2 hours a week, how would you respond? You have that opportunity right now to join over 200 Alexandrians as a reading tutor volunteer with the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC).
ATC tutors work with one child in kindergarten, first, or second grade in Alexandria public schools who need extra help with reading. Tutors meet with their Book Buddy 1-2 times each week for 30 minutes October-May at school, during school hours. Many struggling readers only receive one-on-one instruction through this program, and it makes all the difference. Last year, ATC served 195 children, of whom 82% ended the year reading on grade level and 96% made substantial reading gains. But the need is great, and we are still seeing learning lags from the pandemic.
This year, ATC plans to significantly increase the size of the program to reach over 250 students and to serve every elementary school in Alexandria. This is very exciting news, but we will only succeed if we can recruit more tutors. ATC trains you, matches you with a child, and provides ongoing lesson materials and support.
If you have been thinking about buying your first home or haven’t owned one in the last three years, THIS IS FOR YOU!
In the DMV area, it can be difficult to save the downpayment necessary for you to get into your own home. We have a solution. The Funder’s Summit!
We have assembled a summit with different municipalities to tell you how to access their funds for your home purchase.
Family Fun Fall Fest
Mark your calendars and join us for the Family Fun Fall Fest on Saturday, October 7, 2023, from 11am – 2pm!
This FREE in-person event will be held at the Shoppes at Foxchase, located at 4641 Duke St, Alexandria, VA
2023 Alexandria Fall Festival
Food trucks, bounce houses, pony rides, magic shows and more at the 2023 Alexandria Fall Festival, an Alexandria Living event presented by The Patterson Group. Join us at River Farm on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
