On Tuesday, Noblesville Fire Chief Greg Wyant and Mayor John Ditslear presented Mia Mahoney with a Noblesville Fire Department Certificate of Recognition for her actions on Sept. 22.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 22, NFD responded to a residence fire at 1620 S. 9th St. When units arrived, flames were coming from the second story of the home. Crews were able to enter the home and quickly extinguish the fire, limiting it to the room of origin.
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What was not known at the time was that if it hadn’t been for the actions of a 7-year-old citizen, this fire could have turned out very differently.
Earlier that morning, Mia Mahoney had woken up and decided to go upstairs and play. While playing, she heard the upstairs smoke detector start beeping. Very wisely, she did not ignore it. She did exactly what NFD asks all children to do – she went downstairs and told an adult that the smoke detector was beeping. When they went upstairs to check on the source of the alarm, the fire was beginning to spread. Attempts to put out the fire were unsuccessful. Everyone evacuated the residence and 911 was called.
NFD speaks to thousands of residents every year, encouraging them to take smoke detectors seriously. Firefighters ask people to make sure they have working smoke detectors, to check the smoke detectors regularly, and change the batteries regularly. This is all done in the hope that in the event of a fire, the smoke detectors will warn anyone in the home and they will behave exactly as Mia did on Sept. 22. It is not an exaggeration to say that her actions may have saved lives that day.