FDNY Honors Girls Who Saved Family from Fire after Fire Safety Demo

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano swear in Michele (far right) and Alyssa Corley as honorary fire chiefs.

Sisters Michele and Alyssa Corley learned essential fire safety skills during a presentation by the FDNY at their Staten Island school, P.S. 26, on April 28. Little did anyone know that this knowledge would be put to the test just hours later, when they had a fire in their home.

The girls were able to help their grandmother, Debbie Dixon, to safety during the emergency, and because of their courage, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano swore them in as honorary fire chiefs on May 5.

“This is a great example of the effectiveness of fire safety education,” Commissioner Scoppetta said during the presentation in their school’s auditorium. “After everything they learned that day, [Michele and Alyssa] took charge and everyone got out of the home without injury. These girls get an A+ in fire safety.”

At around 6 p.m. on April 28, Ms. Dixon smelled smoke in her home in the Travis neighborhood of Staten Island and went in search of her 7- and 9-year-old granddaughters in the room next to hers.

She said she was frantic and tried to grab shoes and other items before she left the house. Yet the girls remained calm and told her they had to leave the residence as quickly as possible and call 911. They led her down the hallway toward the door, told her to follow the wall and stay low - skills they had learned in the fire safety demonstration at school that day.

News reporters interview Michele and Alyssa Corley as they stand with (L to R) Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, Vincent Dixon (their grandfather), Edward Corley (their father) and Debbie Dixon, the grandmother they saved.

“It was the best lesson they ever learned in school,” said Ms. Dixon. “They saved my life - all our lives. I am so proud of them.”

Michele, who is in the fourth grade, said, “I was scared at first, but I did what we learned in class that day and we got out safely.”

Her sister Alyssa, a second grader, agreed and said she was “so happy” to be honored by the FDNY.

The members of the FDNY Fire Safety Education Unit who taught the girls their life-saving skills in April returned for the ceremony, including Capt. Martin Cass and retired Firefighters Darrell Patterson and Ed Fitzpatrick.

The Unit also brought the Fire Safety House and gave students more information on how to keep their homes fire safe.

“When you see a story like this, you realize you really did make a difference,” said retired Firefighter Patterson, who has performed these demonstrations for six years. “That’s how you really know you are doing your job.”