Seventeen Iowans were honored today with “Lifesaving Awards” for their heroism. Eight-year-old Elizabeth Carter of Fairfield received an “outstanding” award for her actions on January 27th of this year.Elizabeth’s mother lit a candle in the living room, then went to take a shower. Elizabeth’s three-year-old sister apparently took the candle into the bedroom the two girls shared, and caught the bedding on fire. Elizabeth had learned fire safety techniques at school, and was able to crawl along the wall to get out of her bed. She then took her sister by the hand and the two kept low to the ground to avoid the smoke as they crept out of the house and went to ask neighbors for help.Fairfield fire fighters say the blaze was contained in the girls’ bedroom because Elizabeth did what she’d been taught. She closed the bedroom door when she left the room, to prevent the fire from spreading.
