Super Soakers Prevent Fire Tragedy

One of the kids who squelched what could have
been a dangerous fire with Super Soakers 

The call to the West Fargo, North Dakota fire department seemed dire:

A blaze was starting to crawl up the siding and balcony support of an apartment building. Toward the apartment where a home bound, disabled man on oxygen lived. A man who couldn't escape or fight the fire on his own.

The fire was catching some decking on fire, too. A propane tank from a grill was just feet away from the flames.

The fire trucks raced to the scene, only to find no fire. Just the smoldering remains of a planter destroyed by flames, some melted, burned siding on the building and some charring on the deck support beam, and a deck that was partly scorched.

Oh, and some kids with Super Soakers.

The kids had been playing with the Super Soakers when the spotted the flames. They turned their guns on what had been a growing fire to keep it at bay until the firefighters arrived.

Devin Darnell had attacked the flames from below the deck with his Super Soaker, says television station WDAY. His friend, Katelyn Simon opened fire on the blaze from a neighboring deck.

"I was squirting at it and there was sparks and stuff falling down," said Devon.

Another kid called the fire department and neighbors banged on doors, alerting residents.

West Fargo Fire Chief Dan Fuller said he was really surprised and pleased by the kids' firefighting efforts. "It got into the siding, it got into the decking. We were probably minutes away from having a real, real serious fire," Fuller said.

But the Super Soaker kids prevented that from happening.

After the excitement was over, the West Fargo Fire Department brought the kids to the fire station for a tour and a pizza party.