Jesse Dixon, a third grader at Highland Elementary, walked into school on Dec. 3 to find a surprise school assembly honoring his bravery the previous night, when he saved his uncle from a potential house fire.
Had Dixon not sought help so quickly, his uncle could have died, Riverview Fire Protection District Fire Chief Joe Bommarito said at the assembly.
“That’s the main thing I was glad about because I would be homeless, and my favorite uncle could have been gone,” Dixon said.
The incident occurred after school let out at 3:05 p.m. on Dec. 2. Dixon walked a few blocks to his home in the Glasgow Village neighborhood. His mother told him the back door would be unlocked, but when he got there, it wasn’t. He said he banged on the door, but got no response. He knew his uncle, who is in his early 20s, was supposed to be at home.
“All of the sudden, I smelled smoke,” he said. “I looked in the window, and I could barely see because it was all smoky. And I heard the fire alarm going off.”
Dixon ran back to school and found his sister, fifth grader Ayanna Dixon, in cheer club practice. They went to the school office and told the secretary about the fire. The school staff then called the fire district.
“That’s when superhero number two came along,” Jesse said, pointing to Principal Jeannie Roberts. “She drove us home.”
“You’re going to make me cry,” said Roberts, who was sitting next to Dixon in the interview with The St. Louis American.
When they arrived at the house, the firefighters were already there and getting to work.
“They had to kick in the door, and I thought, ‘My mom is going to be so upset,’” Jesse said.
The firefighters looked around the house and found his uncle asleep in the playroom. He had accidently fallen asleep while cooking chicken nuggets, Jesse said.
“Once they came out, they said if I didn’t get help in time, he could have died,” Jesse said, frowning. “When I need him, my uncle is always there for me. We play games together. We do everything together.”
Before the firefighters left, Roberts asked the fire team to attend their school assembly on Friday, but they only work on Monday and Tuesday. So Roberts asked if they would come the next morning, and she got to work on planning a surprise assembly.
“We really emphasize safety, respect and responsibility,” Roberts said. “We really wanted to take this opportunity to show all of our students just what it means to be safe – not only in the school but also in the community.”
Jesse said he was completely surprised.
“Once they announced my name, I had tears coming down from my eyes,” he said. “I never felt like that ever in my life.”
He said he is inspired to continue making a difference and changing lives.
“I just don’t want to make Highland a better place,” he said. “I want to make the whole entire world a better place. Any person can do this – no matter how old, how tall, or how short.”
