HILLIARD, Fla.
— Three generations of a family that lost all their
possessions in a house fire Monday night are praising their
9-year-old girl for rescuing five younger family members.
Shakiah Mason is credited with saving four toddlers and a
4-month-old baby from the fire that destroyed the family's Hilliard
home.
"I grabbed the baby and I grabbed the other kids and I got them
out the house so Momma and them could get the fire out," Shakiah
said. "The important part was getting my brother and my sisters and
cousin out."
Shakiah's mother and grandmother did try to put out the fire,
but when they realized it was too big, they ran to get the kids and
found they were already outside.
"All I could think about was that family who lost five kids in a
fire last week and I thought, 'Oh my God, no,'" Shakerra
Mason-Rollo said.
The family lost everything they owned -- including the
childrens' Christmas presents they had just brought home from
layaway, but Mason-Rollo said she is so grateful for what was
spared.
"I am so blessed. She is my hero," Mason-Rollo said. "I just
want to thank my daughter, because if it wasn't for her, it could
have been worse."
Shakiah Rollo, right, led her five siblings out of their home
when it caught fire.