10-Year-Old North Dakota Girl And Her Kitten Save Family From Burning House

A ten-year-old North Dakota girl and her kitten are being hailed as heroes after saving a family from a burning home, reported Grand Forks Herald.

Kassidee Gallaway now wears a diamond necklace around her neck that was donated by Helzberg Diamonds in Grand Forks to always remind her of her heroic actions on January 20, 2021.

Around 6 a.m. on January 20th, the family's cat, Sage, woke Kassidee up by clawing at her face. Kassidee immediately knew that something wasn't right.

Kassidee told Grand Forks Herald, "I was thinking we weren't going to make it out. "She described how she knew something was off. "It smelled like burnt pizza. It was really hot in my room. I couldn't breathe and I went out to get my breath," she explained.

Once she noticed her house was ablaze, she ran to wake up her parents and her brother.

Kassidee's stepdad Cody Saiger said that he didn't think that his family would ever be in this situation. He also explained how Kassidee had remembered that opening doors can fuel a fire, so she waited until everyone was at the front door to open it.

Saiger said, "When the front door was open, all the windows blew out and the fire took off."

Though the family is now safe, they lost everything in the fire.

Unfortunately, Sage the cat did not make it out.

Kassidee's mom Charlotte Reilly said, "(We're) lucky we had her when we did for the short time we did."

The Hoople Fire Department gave the family an honorary helmet to remember Sage and her heroic actions.

There has been a GoGundMe set up for the family. In addition, a benefit dinner will take place at the Gardner Town Hall on Saturday, February 6th.

Photo: Getty Images