Photo: Facebook
What a hero!
By Nia Tipton — Written on Dec 15, 2021
An 11-year-old boy is being branded a hero after rescuing his four siblings from their burning home.
The Sims family of seven had been living in their house since 2010, and on Sunday afternoon Kimberly Sims and her husband, Matthew Sims, left their five kids at home to run an errand up the street.
It was only minutes later that they received an alarming phone call from their 8-year-old daughter.
“She was like, ‘Mom, there’s a fire,’ and I was like, ‘what do you mean there’s a fire,” Kimberly Sims recalled to WJHL.
Fortunately, 11-year-old Brody was able to save his siblings from the fire.
The boy, Brody Sims, was thankfully well prepared by his parents and remembered being told what to do in the event that a blaze ever happened inside his Clarksville, Tennessee home.
“My mom and dad told us, if there was a fire, to grab everyone and run out of the house and call 911,” Sims said in an interview with WSMV.
As the parents raced back to their home, Kimberly remembers seeing an abundance of fire trucks and thankfully all five of their children safely outside thanks to their eldest son, Brody.
“All you could see was just smoke coming out," Brody said of the fire. “I was just standing right here, and my sister called 911.”
While his sister, Sydney, called for help, Brody leapt into action and rushed his four siblings out of the house.
Recalling the traumatizing event, Brody said he was desperate to locate his sleeping 2-year-old brother before the fire became even worse.
“I was just crying and yelling my brother’s name,” Brody said.
The 11-year-old boy managed to find his little brother in time, getting him out of the house before the flames became too much.
Firefighters extinguished the fire minutes after getting to the house and discovering the fire had started in the kitchen.
Brody says he was just being a good big brother.
“We’re so proud of him. We can’t even explain how proud we are of him and his two sisters who also got out of the house and called 911,” Kimberly said.
“I did what any big brother would do,” Brody proudly stated.
Unfortunately, the inside of the Sims family home could not be saved, with burnt-up piles of rubble covering their entire place.
Of course, none of that mattered to Kimberly and Matthew Sims, who were just glad that their five children were safe.
“I’m just really thankful the kids have been trained what to do in emergencies,” she shared.
The community in Clarksville seemed to recognize the bravery from such a young boy, coming together to support the Sims family.
According to Kimberly Sims Facebook page, the Clarksville Fire Department showed up with presents for the children, and took them to school in their fire truck.
“We are blown away and so grateful for all of the support, phone calls, donations, and prayers. Thank you all so much!” she wrote.
Just a day after the fire, the aunt of the children, Hannah Sims, started a GoFundMe campaign for the entire family who lost everything in the fire.
“Their house is completely destroyed, along with most of their belongings, including awards their dad got while in the army as well as the kids’ toys and clothes,” Hannah wrote in the description of the campaign.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.