upworthy

house fire

The Manning Family Children's Burn Center/GoFundMe

Michael Butler saved his family from a fatal house fire in October 2024.

Five-year-old Michael Butler is a hero. Early in the morning on October 2, 2024, the family’s trailer in rural Jonesville, Louisiana, had caught on fire, quickly engulfing it in flames. Michael woke from a deep sleep after hearing a message from God.

“Michael told us he received a message from God that said he needed to go wake his mama and daddy up,” Chaya Butler, Michael’s mother tells Upworthy. His dad, Trenten, adds, “We were woken up by him screaming.”

Michael had run from the far end of the trailer through fire to reach his parents bedroom, suffering burns on his back from melting nails in the roof and to his face after falling into a melted plastic laundry basket on his parent’s bedroom floor. The hand he used to open the bedroom door was scalded, but none of it stopped him.

 trenten butler, chaya butler, michael butler, butler family, house fire Trenten and Chaya Butler pose with their children.GoFundMe

“After he woke us up, we struggled to get out of the bedroom. We couldn’t see anything because the smoke was so thick and we went to the wrong door 3 times thinking it was our bedroom door [and way out],” Chaya says.

“It was terrifying. The only thing on my mind was getting my family out,” says Trenten.

Chaya and Trenten were able to get Michael's little sister out of the home, as well as two other family members who were staying with them. However, two other family members did not survive, as well as four family pets.

The devastating night could have resulted in an even more catastrophic outcome and the family credits Michael’s faith with saving their lives. “We had been going to church every Sunday. Never missed a service,” says Trenten. “We had gotten baptized, and we were heavy with the Holy Ghost. Michael was praising the Lord, praying and going to the altar. He would pray before eating and going to bed.”

Michael escaped with severe burns that required him to undergo four different surgeries, including skin grafts, at The Manning Family Children's Burn Center in New Orleans. (His family also suffered burns that have left scars.) However, Michael’s feet were spared–something his family calls miraculous.

 boy, hero, faith, fire, family, emergency Michael Butler poses at the The Manning Family Children's Burn Center.The Manning Family Children's Burn Center

“Michael was barefoot. There is no way he walked through the house without burns on his feet without God. God’s protection was over him the whole way,” says Trenten.

During his recovery, Michael continued to persevere. “He had a cast on for a while, but he was resilient; he didn't let it slow him down or stop him,” adds Trenten.

The family has slowly been rebuilding their life and coping with lasting nightmares from October 2, 2024. (The family has started GoFundMe.)

“It has definitely been a journey. There are a lot of questions that haven’t been answered. Why us?” says Trenten. “God gives his toughest battles to His strongest warriors. We will never be back to ‘normal’ but we are making our own normal. We’re slowly getting there. Rock bottom isn't always the bottom–you can always come back up. We definitely hit that. But having your life is just as beautiful. ”

However, they hope others will be inspired by their story and their son Michael’s strong spiritual connection.

“Even if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, God is always with you,” says Chaya.

Heroes

Garbage men save couple and their dog from fire while out doing his rounds

"I saw a young woman screaming from the balcony and all I could think was that I needed to get to her as quickly as possible."

Garbage man saves couple and their dog from fire

There's nothing quite as terrifying to imagine as being trapped in a house fire. Most people are taught what to do if they smell smoke or a fire breaks out in their house. In fact, one of the biggest positives for encouraging closed doors in the home is the door helps keep the fire contained outside of the door for a longer period of time. This gives anyone trapped inside the room a chance to climb out of the nearest window or a longer window of rescue if the room has no escape.

One couple found themselves living this nightmare when their apartment caught fire while they were trapped inside with their dog. The situation could've turned into a much greater tragedy had it not been trash day. Tiffany Dupree, her partner Zac(corr) Braden and their dog Skye were stuck in their burning apartment in Tipton, West Midlands in England when a garbage truck drove by and saw the fire.


Steve Whitehouse and Kevin Marriott were the garbage truck workers who spotted the flames coming from the apartment and spotted Dupree screaming on the balcony. Instead of just calling it in, the garbagemen pulled their truck over and got to work rescuing the occupants inside without hesitation.

"I saw a young woman screaming from the balcony and all I could think was that I needed to get to her as quickly as possible, Whitehouse tells BBC Radio.

Upon seeing the woman, Whitehouse jumped out of his truck and scaled a wall in order to get to the balcony, pulling the woman out of harms way within seconds. When Dupree was safe, the garbageman turned his attention to the thick smoke coming from inside the apartment.

"The smoke was getting thicker. I called to anyone else who might be inside and could hear a young man shouting in distress for his dog. I managed to bundle up the dog in a blanket, jumped back down to the ground, and got the owner to throw the dog to me. I then went back up to help him,” Whitehouse explains to BBC Radio.

Keeleigh Seymour|GoFundMe

According to the Daily Mail, firemen believe the fire was started by an e-bike battery exploding while it was charging on the bottom of the stairs. Since the fire originated at the stairwell, it made it impossible for the couple to escape the blaze. Dupree is currently awaiting to be relocated by the council but in the meantime, the couple was only able to escape with the clothes they were wearing and their dog.

"'It was about 8 am when I heard popping and rustling sounds. I thought it was my dog, Skye, but he was asleep in the kitchen. I heard three bangs and as I opened the living room door there was a huge boom," Dupree tells Daily Mail.

Dupree and her partner don't live together, so it's only her things that need to be replaced, so her sister-in-law Keeleigh Seymour created a GoFundMe to help replace clothing and furniture.