BRUNSWICK, Fla. – Just over a month after Nakita Foreman’s Brunswick home caught on fire, she was paid a surprise visit Monday by the heroes who helped save everything the family’s home and belongings and a Jacksonville-based ADT dispatcher whose quick response to an alarm sent by a smoke detector got firefighters to the home in time to prevent bigger tragedy.
Just before Christmas, the expectant mother decided to light some candles and relax with her 3-year-old when the alarm went off.
“I knew that it was the candle,” Foreman said.
As she went to neighbors to get help, the Foreman’s home security alerted ADT dispatcher Dejuanni Edwards, who was already notifying Glynn County firefighters of the fire.
“I’m thinking my (of) husband. I’m thinking (of) my kids, I’m thinking everybody else, but you never immediately think, ‘I need to call 911,’ because when you were in that moment, it’s a lot,” Foreman said.
Neighbor Sidney Bush helped as much as she could until firefighters alerted by Edwards could arrive.
“She just said, ‘My house is on fire,’ so I went inside and grab the first thing I could find, which was a bucket of Cascade,' Bush said. "I dumped it on the floor and just started shoveling water to the fire to put the fire out,”
The bedroom room where the fire started was gutted and there’s some smoke damage above, but the Foreman family said the damage could have been much worse.
Nakita Foreman and her husband, Jeremy, wanted to express their gratitude to everyone who played a part in keeping their home and family safe. Especially the dispatcher.
“It was just unbelievable to hear the dispatcher, to hear that actual phone call, to see her in person, to get a chance to say, ‘Girl, thank you, I really really really appreciate you,'" Nakita Foreman said before giving her a hug.
In addition to helping set up Monday’s surprise meeting, ADT gave $5,000 checks to both the Glynn County Fire Department and the Peace Officers Association of Georgia.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, unattended lit candles spark a thousand house fires each year, causing 80 deaths, 770 injuries and $264 million in damage.