WEST FARGO -- Neighborhood kids with water guns are credited with saving a homebound West Fargo resident from a fire Tuesday afternoon, May 31.

According to a release from West Fargo Fire Chief Daniel Fuller:

Firefighters were called to a deck fire at an apartment unit at 3426 5th St. W.

While en route, units were notified that the occupant of the apartment was on home oxygen and could not leave the apartment or put out the fire.

When firefighters arrived, they found the remains of a planter that had caught fire. The flames had extended into the siding and wood decking adjacent to the planter.

The fire was already out, however, and it was later determined that five neighborhood kids saw the fire, alerted the occupant, and then used their water guns to control the blaze before firefighters arrived.

Fuller said in a phone interview Tuesday that the boys and girls are all students at Aurora Elementary School in West Fargo. He said three of the kids live in the same apartment complex and two had joined them for a water fight outside the building. They smelled the smoke and found the fire.

“They had some super soakers, so they had some pretty good range,” Fuller said. “They had to refill a couple of times but they pretty much got the fire out. It was just smoldering when we got there.”

While heading to the fire, Fuller was told neighbors helped extinguish the fire, but he expected the neighbors to be adults.

“I was really surprised,” he said. “It’s pretty unusual.”

Fuller said the kids’ quick thinking and actions saved the building from extensive fire damage and may have saved the life of the apartment’s occupant.

He said the fire is a reminder that smoking materials must be discarded with care, with the proper way being to soak them in water before discarding.

He said smoking materials should never be put out in planters, as most potting soils contain peat moss, a very flammable material.

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