The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper Photograph by Skye Dunlap Fireman Steve Swenson pins 5-year-old Yasmina Simone with a special badge of honor for alerting her grandfather to a fire smoldering at a neighbors' home. Grandpa, child team up to knock out blaze By Justin Berton Three weeks ago, on a cold morning, Yousef Salem prepared breakfast for his 5-year-old granddaughter, Yasmina, at their home on Lambeth Court. As usual, the two munched on bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and sipped glasses of milk and orange juice before Yasmina headed off to school. This morning turned out to be different from most, though, because Yasmina spotted something odd outside. "Look, Grandpa," Yasmina said, pointing toward the window. "I think that house is on fire." Yousef looked over his shoulder and squinted his eyes, but he did not see anything out of the ordinary. Yousef assured his granddaughter, "That's not a fire. That's just steam rising from the roof." The two returned to eating breakfast, still cozy in their pajamas. But Yasmina remained concerned. "No, Grandpa. I think that's smoke, and I think we should go tell them." Happy to satisfy his granddaughter's curiosity, Yousef said, "OK, let's go tell them." He wrapped Yasmina in a tiny sweater and put on a big coat for himself. The two walked to their neighbors' home, where Yousef was prepared to explain how steam often appears in the cold of morning. But, as he neared the home, he realized Yasmina was correct. Inside a wooden box off to the side of the home, the wiring to the timer of the sprinkler system had faulted. Quickly, Yousef reached for dirt nearby and smothered the flames with a few douses. When firemen from the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety arrived, they had little to do but inform the residents that their home had been saved by the curiosity of the kindergartner next door. And so it came as no surprise that the firefighters wanted a chance to thank this very special little girl. Wednesday morning, Yousef and Yasmina woke up, ate breakfast and drove to station No. 8 in Yousef's pick-up truck. Once there, she got a chance to meet the firemen who responded to the call: Bill Honsal, Robert Ciano, Tim Macierz and Steve Swenson. The firemen crowded around Yasmina and shook her tiny hand. They awarded her a certificate of appreciation and took turns taking their picture with her. They decorated her with badges and pronounced her a Junior Safety Officer. She was seen bouncing around the station and hopping behind the wheel of the fire truck. A very proud grandfather looked on. "She certainly saved property," officer Swenson said as Yasmina climbed a ladder under the close supervision of four firefighters and one captain. "She probably saved lives, too." [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, December 2, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.