A random act of kindness shown by four teenage boys to a 90-year-old lady has won the hearts of social media users.
Oklahoma resident Catherine Ritchie has lived in the same home for the last 58 years, in the Tulsa suburb of Sapulpa. But all that changed three weeks ago.
She was in the bathroom getting ready for bed when she suddenly saw the head of her bed on fire.
That’s when four boys, between the ages of 14 and 17 from the neighborhood and out at a convenience store, noticed the smell.
‘It smelled kind of like burning rubber,’ 16-year-old Dylan Wick said, ‘Then we heard the house alarm go off.’
Catherine desperately tried to put out the smoke but eventually gave up, called 911, and hit her emergency call button.
Then another problem occurred: she said the smoke was so bad she couldn’t get out of the room. She felt along the wall and accidentally went into the closet instead of the door to exit the room. But finally, she got to the door.
While she was trying to get out of the house, the boys sprang into action, trying to break down doors to get inside.
Fourteen-year-old Nick Byrd got through the back door and ran inside, finding Catherine in the hallway, covered in smoke.
‘This young boy was right there. He picked me up, and I said, ‘I can walk,’ and he said, ‘We’re getting out of here,” Catherine said.
‘I just kind of heard her. I went to the right of the house and no one was there,’ Byrd said. ‘I went to the left of the house, and I saw her in the hallway, so I just grabbed her and took her to Seth.’
Catherine and the boys managed to get out safely, and the firefighters stopped the flames before they spread.
The boys again went to check on the home after a few weeks, to see what damage had been caused to the house.
‘Ever since that night, my life has just changed…for the better,’ said 17-year-old Wyatt Hall as he looked at the burned mattress.
Catherine says she is grateful for what the boys did for her and adds, ‘They were just special, as young as they were.’