Created: 11/17/2009 10:44:48 PM 
Greensboro -- Firefighters credit a high school senior with saving the lives of her three younger siblings during a house fire late Monday.
"I heard popping noises, loud popping noises," recalled Kiera Bell, who was asleep when the fire started. "I opened my door, and I smelled smoke." Bell says she immediately woke up her three brothers and helped the 5-year-old and 9-year-old out of the home. Her 17-year-old brother remained behind to find their mother. "He went down the hallway to my mama's room, and the door was locked."
"When I opened the door, smoke just came flying out of her room," said Derrick Rutledge. "I was just scared because I didn't know if she was in her room or not." Rutledge said his mother was not answering his calls, and he could only see smoke and flames. "I came outside and saw her car pull up."
Kristy Bennett told WFMY News 2 she left to go to the store just minutes before the fire started and quickly returned home. "I realized I didn't have my wallet," she said. "All I saw was smoke coming from the roof and my kids standing in the yard."
Greensboro fire officials believe a lit candle left unattended in Bennett's bedroom sparked the fire. "You just never think it will happen to you," said Bennett, who thought she had blown the candle out. "By the grace of God, my children are safe."
Rutledge spent Tuesday sifting through items in the fire-damaged home. But he knows that nothing he salvages will compare to what his sister already saved. "The way the fire was, no one should have survived," he said. "But thanks to my sister, we all did."
Bennett said her landlord has found another home for her family to live in while the fire-damaged home is being repaired. Fire officials estimate the amount of damage to be $80,000.
WFMY News 2
