When 12-year-old Romir Parker smelled smoke, he didn’t panic, he became a hero.
The seventh grader from Petersburg, Virginia, was upstairs in early June when he heard a strange sound. By the time he made it downstairs, a wall of thick black smoke was taking over the house, and his 1-year-old and 2-year-old siblings were asleep on the couch.
“I go downstairs, it’s just black smoke all throughout the house,” Parker told the local CBS affiliate. “I grabbed my 2-year-old brother, then I grabbed the 1-year-old, cause the 1-year-old is smaller and I fitted them inside my arms and we ran outside the house.”
But Romir wasn’t done.
Realizing his grandmother was still inside, he ran back into the burning home to help her walk out, just moments before Petersburg firefighters arrived.
Four minutes made the difference. But according to Fire Chief Wayne Hoover, it was Romir who saved his family’s life.
Hoover didn’t mince words about the boy’s courage, later saying that when Romir turns 18, “he’s got a job with the fire brigade if he needs one.”
The City of Petersburg honored Romir with a special proclamation, recognizing him for “demonstrating a level of bravery and presence of mind, well beyond his years.” The fire department also named him an honorary firefighter.
“He showed protective instincts of someone far older,” the city noted.
So next time you hear the phrase “not all heroes wear capes,” remember this seventh grader with two toddlers in his arms, running through smoke to save his family. His name is Romir Parker. And he’s 12.
