Unable

to awaken her mother, Megan went to her parents'

bedroom and woke her father, William

"Ashley" Arrington.

Arrington

told Megan to go out and wake her mother, and to

get her mother and 3-year-old brother Ashley Jr.

ut of the house. Megan again braved the smoke and

heat, returning to the living room to find her

mother still unresponsive on the sofa, reports

said.

Megan

then grabbed her mother's leg and flipped her off

of the sofa, causing her to hit the floor and

wake up. Mrs. Arrington then made her way to

little Ashley's room, collected him, and fled the

house, meeting up with Megan on the front yard.

Mr.

Arrington was able to put out the fire with a

portable fire extinguisher and joined the family

outside. They returned to the house and found

that the fire had caused $5,000 to $10,000

damage.

"Based

on her actions, Megan saved the lives of her

family and reduced the amount of potential damage

to the house had the fire grown larger,"

says a City Hall news release. "Smoke and

super-heated gases from burning carpet are

extremely lethal. More deaths occur from smoke

and heated gases every year than from flame.

"Tonya

observed Megan crouching over where clean, cook

oxygen was available and followed her lead,

allowing her to avoid becoming a fire casualty

herself," the release says.

Megan,

who is in the second grade at Fayette Primary

School, had recently participated in a fire

safety education program. Sgt. Ashley Strickland

of the Fayetteville Fire Department teaches the

one-hour program to children.

Training

in fire safety education is a year-round project

for the department. Students are exposed to fire

safety education monthly. Fire Chief Alan Jones

has instituted the program "Learn not to

Burn" based on curriculum issued by the

National Fire Protection Association in 13 local

schools, and said he hopes to expand the program

soon.

Jones

said that during 1999 fire safety education

classes were delivered to 259 classes

encompassing all day care facilities, pre-schools

and elementary schools through third grade, with

6,211 children learning about fire safety.

For

information on fire safety, home evacuation plans

or safety education, phone Fire Marshal Cheryl

Walls or Sgt. Ashley Strickland at 770-461-4548.

Jones

also asks that anyone having a fire at home or

office, regardless of size or nature, report it

to fire officials by dialing 911.

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