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Highlands Today

5-Year-Old Alerts Family To Sunday Blaze

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: December 30, 2008

SEBRING - Taryn Lavender has a new hero: her 5-year-old son, Morgan.

The Sebring resident credits her youngster with alerting her and her husband, Dirk, to a fire that broke out in their Magnolia Avenue home Sunday morning around 7:45. The family was able to get out of the house.

"He's a hero," Taryn said about her son.
Dirk said he was resting in his room with infant son Elijah, while Taryn was asleep on the living room couch.

Morgan was busy playing when he noticed the flames.

"Morgan came in and told me the house was on fire," Dirk said.

The fire had broken out in a back bedroom. Once Dirk saw how bad the blaze was, he told Taryn to get the children out of the house. The couple's oldest daughter, Kierstyn, was away at a friend's house.

After the couple and their kids were outside, a next-door EMS officer came over and advised them to move their car away from the house, according to Dirk.

Once the car had been moved, Dirk went back inside with a garden hose to try and put out the fire. Five minutes later, he left the home and let firefighters take over.

The cause of the blaze was a faulty wall heater, according to information from the City of Sebring Fire Department. Responding units reported smoke showing from the side of the house and a fire was visible in a window.

Taryn said most of their furniture, including a baby's crib, was lost due to the fire or smoke and water damage.

Dirk, who was treated for minor burns on his right foot, said his home was declared uninhabitable because of the smoke damage and no electricity. The family is now staying with relatives for the next few days.

Although their home and a majority of their furniture were lost, what were not were the things that matter most.

"The most important thing is we didn't lose our family or anything that can't be replaced," Taryn said.

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at (863) 386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com

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