LOWELL, Mass. — Neighbors are calling an 84-year-old Lowell grandmother a hero after she woke up a family whose house was on fire early Sunday morning.
Judy Feeley woke up around 5:15 and happened to look out the window to see an orange glow at the home across Anderson St., she told Fox 25. Feeley dialed 911 and ran across the street to alert the neighbors she has known for years.
"I came down the stairs, grabbed a coat and ran across the street, and was pounding on the door, calling Ed, who is the father, and, calling and yelling, thinking, 'Oh, God,'" Feeley said. "The fire trucks pulled up and said to me, 'Are they out?', and I said no. But just then, Ed opened the door, I told him (about) the fire, (and) he went in and got everybody out."
Since then Ed Martin and his girlfriend Denise Rodriguez have thanked Feeley for saving their lives. Their two sons and a granddaughter had been inside sleeping as well.
"She saved our lives," Rodriguez said. "If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be here."
Feeley, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, cannot believe she made it across the street.
"God had to be with me," Feeley said, "because I don't know how I got down those stairs like that."
While neighbors are calling her a hero, a humble Feeley says she did what anyone else would have done.
"My grandchildren are putting me on Facebook, and my neighbors are calling me hero," Feeley said. "I don't feel like a hero. But I feel good that I did it."
Feeley said she feels awful that the family has lost all their possessions, but thankful they have each other.
"You can replace a home, but you can't replace a family," Feeley said.
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