BEMIDJI -- It seems Bemidji has a young hero in its midst.
Central Elementary second-grader Calder Murray and his mother, Erin, were honored on Thursday by the Bemidji Fire Department with a “Community Hero” award for their quick reporting of a house fire in early April. According to Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood, the award may be the first of its kind from the department.
Chief Sherwood, along with Bemidji Deputy Fire Chief Mike Yavarow, Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince and Bemidji City Council Member for Ward 1, Audrey Thayer, presented the Murrays with the award on April 22 in front of Ashley Willard’s second and third-grade class at Central Elementary School.
“We’re all here today to talk about one of your classmates and friends, Calder Murray,” Sherwood said to the class. “Calder and his mom, Erin, were extremely brave and extremely helpful recently.”
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Shaking hands with the fire chief and the mayor -- whose presence elicited gasps of awe from the students -- Murray bashfully accepted his plaque in front of his classmates.
Sherwood then recalled the event for the group. On Saturday, April 3, the Murrays were driving home, when Calder spotted a fire burning on the roof of 812 Beltrami Avenue, just across the street from Central Elementary. From a video of the fire shared to Murray’s Facebook page, it appears to be the backside of Mattie's Menagerie Antiques.
After calling 911, the two knocked on doors, alerting the neighbors.
“Calder immediately told his mom what he saw, and without hesitation Calder and his mom Erin called 911 and then alerted the people inside of the home of the fire, which we all believe ultimately saved the structure from extreme damage and three lives,” Sherwood said. “So we think Calder and his mom are heroes. So what we wanted to do in front of your classmates, and our city is present Calder and his mom with the Bemidji Fire Department Community Hero Award.”
Mayor Prince also had encouraging words for the family.
“Thank you from everyone in the city for your quick thinking and seeing things and telling your mom and doing all the right things,” he said. “So on behalf of everyone in the city, we say thank you for you and your mom. Great job.”
Erin remarked that Calder is quite observant, “he’s a good little fire spotter,” she said with a laugh.
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“We're extremely happy and grateful for what you and your son did,” Sherwood added. “We love having people like you in our community who help all of us fight fires and keep people safe.”
