Chief Walter Williams of the Ona Volunteer Fire Department presents nine-year-old Kenny Grove with a certificate for showing courage and bravery during a ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in Ona. Grove rescued his sister from a house fire on Dec. 19.
ONA, W.Va. — When the boots come on and the engines roll out, firefighters know they’ll rarely find any joy at the end of an emergency call. As Milton and Ona firefighters hosed down the charred frame of the Grove family’s home on Dec. 19, the bravery of one Ona Elementary third-grader highlighted the silver lining on smoke clouds.
With a space heater fire spiraling out of control in their Malcolm Springs home, 9-year-old Kenny Grove rushed through the house upstairs to his sister’s bedroom, shaking sleeping 7-year-old Kaylie Grove awake and out the door.
Recognizing more than most the courage a burning building requires, the Ona Volunteer Fire Department honored Kenny with a ceremony Saturday afternoon at the department’s Howells Mill Road station.
Kenny was shy to receive his certificate of recognition from Williams and the other firefighters, and couldn’t pin down the hows or whys of what happened the morning of Dec. 19. All he knew, then and now, was to let his instincts take over…