Authorities praised a Hometown woman's quick thinking when her neighbor's house went up in flames.
Cheryl Hart saved Edward Kern from a fire on South S Street in Fort Smith. She said she saw the flames, called 911 and knocked on Edward Kern's door.
He was asleep while his house was burning, and Hart's action probably saved his life.
"When I drove into the driveway, I was a little frantic," Hart said. "I was like, 'I knew I need to call 911.'"
Emergency operators told her to stay away from the house; however, Hart thought Kern might be sleeping, and she was right.
"(Kern) came back out," Hart said. "He moved his truck away from the house, and the fire department showed up."
It took firefighters about 15 minutes to put out the fire, and Fort Smith's chief commended Hart for her quick thinking.
"A lot of people are afraid to do anything, but she definitely did the right thing by knocking on the door," said Fire Chief Larry Hall. "She probably knew, since he was her neighbor, that he was at home in the mornings."
As for Kern, he said Hart was his heroine.
Officials said the blaze was started by a cigarette that was thrown away by Kern's daughter in a trash can in the garage.
Copyright 2005 TheHometownChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
