La’Prentis says he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he had left the toddler in the home.
“If I didn’t save my sister, I would be mad at myself because I could’ve saved her easily. I could have saved her, and I would risk my life for my sister,” he told reporters.
Maryland’s Office of the State Fire Marshal says the fire was caused by an “accidental-unspecified electrical event at an outlet in the bedroom.”
La’Prentis mother Keishauna Banks says she was on her way home from the grocery store stocking up on food for Thanksgiving dinner when she got a call from her best friend about the fire.
“We lost everything except for the clothes that we had on our backs,” Banks wrote on an online fundraiser.
Fire officials says two of the eight units in the two-story building are uninhabitable as a result of the fire. The fire caused an estimated $250,000 in structural damage and another $40,000 in damage to its contents, the Office of the State Fire Marshal said. The families are now being assisted by the American Red Cross.
Banks says she is thankful that both of her children survived the fire. La’Prentis’ injuries from his second escape were so minor they didn’t require on-scene medical attention, officials said.
“I feel bad because I don’t know how to reward him right now,” Banks told ABC 6. “I praise him and say, ‘Do you know that you did a good job?’ But I’m still trying to process everything, I’m still in shock.”
Salisbury Mayor Jake Day plans to recognize the young boy for his heroic actions.
“As a mayor, I’m always looking for citizens who are selfless, citizens who are willing to lead, and we’ve got one right here,” Day said.
