Lake Barrington girl honored for staying calm under fire

Near midnight, as the rest of her family slept, then-10-year-old Kaitlin Beers lay awake on her bunk bed because she didn't feel well.

What happened next on that Thursday night in early November saved five other members of the Lake Barrington family and earned the fifth-grader an award of merit from the Wauconda Fire Protection District.

"I heard popping and sizzling, and the smell was really strong," she said Thursday after the presentation at Station 1 in Wauconda. "I just started screaming."

A fire had started in the basement, but the smoke detector wasn't working. Toxic smoke entered the furnace and was blowing through the heating vents. Kaitlin noticed that, too, in what she described as a scary situation.

She had heard the fire safety talk the district holds monthly at various schools, including North Barrington Elementary School, and knew they had to get out. Her screams awoke her father, James, who had been wearing a breathing assistance device, but no one else stirred in the four upstairs bedrooms. He ran into the hall.

"In seconds, it went from a hazy smoke to pitch black smoke," he said before the presentation. "If she had been sleeping and not been sick, we would have all been dead."

James Beers said the family didn't have a specific fire evacuation routine but had an awareness of what to do.

Mike DaValle, public education coordinator for the district, was among the first on the scene and said he was amazed by the information Kaitlin, now 11, provided.

"She had a very vivid memory," DaValle said. "She was extremely calm. I'll remember that until the day I retire."

As the family gathered out front, James Beers went back inside twice to rouse Cameron, 12, and Calista, 14.

James went inside a third time to get the keys to get the family vehicles out of the garage.

He was treated at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital for smoke inhalation. No one else was injured.

"It's stuff we talked about in the schools. She heard it. It's proof that it works," DaValle said. "The long and short of it is she did what she was supposed to do in the face of danger."

Fire Chief Mike Wahl said the department doesn't often have occasion to recognize members of the public.

"This was one that kind of stood out for us," he said.