Jakobe Allison Receives Citizenship Award

Jasper County Fire Chief Chris Finch recently presented the Citizenship Award to Jakobe Allison for showing courage and valor by acting quickly to extinguish a kitchen fire in his home.

On January 7, it seemed like a routine day for Jackie Lawrence. She was cooking breakfast before getting ready for church when she noticed smoke coming from behind the stove. She immediately yelled to her daughter, Monica, and her grandson, Jakobe, that the stove was on fire. Monica, thinking her mother was over reacting, thought it must be steam from the boiling water on the stove.

However, 14-year-old, Jakobe jumped into action by pulling the stove out from the wall, which exposed smoke, flames and the electric wall socket was glowing from excessive heat. He then pulled the main electrical breaker, cutting off all electricity to the house, and extinguished the flames. Jakobe’s quick thinking and fast actions saved his family’s home.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), cooking equipment is the leading cause of home structure fires and the second leading cause of home fire deaths. Chief Finch encourages everyone to have a home fire escape plan and working smoke alarms installed throughout the house. Also, it is helpful to keep a fire extinguisher on hand for fires that are confined to a small area. Most importantly, be sure that everyone has exited the building and that the fire department has been called.

Jakobe Allison is an eighth grade student at Jasper County Middle School where he is active in sports and band. His hobbies are auto mechanics which he learned from his grandfather, Haran Allison, and working on house remodeling with his uncles. He is the son of Monica Allison of Monticello. Chief Finch commended Jakobe for taking action and keeping his family safe. His family is very proud of him as well.