First-grader alerts mother to 2 a.m. fire, allowing family to escape safely
- Mary Lou Montgomery
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Korbyn Hudson, 6, is being credited by his family for awakening his mother when he noticed that the ceiling in his bedroom appeared to be “melting” at 2 a.m. Nov. 14. Once awake, his mother, Cierra, said that she called 911 and escaped the burning house at 1250 Broadway with her two young sons. Korbyn is pictured with a Lego camera that he constructed himself. He has aspirations of becoming a blogger. Photo contributed by Cierra Thomas.
MARY LOU MONTGOMERY
Six-year-old Korbyn Hudson returned to his classroom at Mark Twain Elementary School on Monday, a week after a fire heavily damaged the home in which he lived with his mother, Cierra Thomas, and his toddler brother, Halo.
Cierra is hoping that a return to school will help to restore a sense of normalcy for her son, who will turn 7 on Sunday.
“His school has been so hands on; all his friends were excited to see him,” she said at mid-day Monday, while taking a short break from her job as assistant manager for Hannibal’s Sonic Drive-In. She has worked for Sonic since she was 16, she said, through high school and college, she said.
Korbyn is being deemed a hero, for alerting his mother to the 2 a.m. fire on Friday, Nov. 14.
“Mom, my room is melting,” he told her as he entered her bedroom. At first, she thought he was procrastinating, trying to stay up later.
“No, my room is melting,” he repeated.
“When I sat up, I could smell the smoke,” she said.
Upon inspection, Cierra discovered that the ceiling in Korbyn’s room looked like it was glowing. “Middle chunks were already falling down. I couldn’t believe how brave he was to run out of his room.”
She immediately called 911.
“My bedroom is by the stairs. I went and grabbed Halo, and Korbyn grabbed a blanket,” to keep the baby warm. “And we ran out of the house, with no shoes or anything.”
Just as they got outside, the fire department arrived on the scene.
“They got there incredibly fast,” she said.
After firefighters left the scene, the building inspector arrived. “They were very thorough,” with the inspection, she said.
“Korbyn gave a detailed account; they were very impressed how detailed he was.
“They had us go to my car, up the road, while they investigated. Someone would alternately check on us.”
The inspector told her that the house had some old knob and tube wiring.
“We were very lucky it wasn’t worse,” she said.
“The city building inspector educated me and Korbyn and the baby’s grandparents on what caused the fire. He got the ball rolling. He didn’t want us to be without a home. Then the dispatchers notified the Red Cross.”
‘What if’
There are so many “what if’s” that cross Cierra’s mind as the days pass following the fire.
Korbyn typically slept on the top bunk of the bed in his room. She had recently noticed that he was getting congested, “so I got out an old platform bed and put it down there,” on the floor. “What if he had been sleeping up closer to the ceiling?” she wonders.
And sometimes, Korbyn stays at his dad’s house. “If he hadn’t been there,” to awaken his mother, “or was still sleeping up top, I can’t imaging how bad it might have been,” Cierra said.
The family had been living in a duplex at 1250 Broadway since early 2024, next door to the State Farm Insurance office.
Isaac Walden owns the house. The other half of the duplex has been vacant for while, Cierra said.
Smoke detectors
The family was not alerted by smoke detectors.
“There were some smoke detectors downstairs, but they didn’t work. There weren’t any upstairs,” Cierra said.
She has received a lot of advice since the fire regarding smoke detectors; advice she plans to heed in the future.
“Check the batteries in the alarms to make sure they working,” she said. When setting the time back or forward, make sure those batteries are good to go.”
Recovery
Immediately after the fire, Korbyn went to stay with his father, Tyler Hudson.
“He didn’t cry about the fire until he was at his dad’s, and knew that me and his brother were somewhere safe.”
The displaced fire victims spent a week at a local hotel. “When we checked out Sunday morning, people stopped by and donated” household items and toys, “both new and used. It has been great, it really helped with the transition.”
A local real estate agent helped to connect Cierra and her sons with some temporary housing. Now, and for the foreseeable future, Jamie Dennis and her husband offered the loft space over JDubb’s Sports Bar, 219 N. Main.
Cierra is very humbled that people she doesn’t even know have been so gracious to help her get back on her feet.
Now that they are settled in to housing, it is time to focus on Korbyn.
Sunday in his seventh birthday, and she had previously made reservations for a party at Crazy Town Trampoline Park in Quincy.
He lost all of his toys in the fire. “He doesn’t have anything else. It’s the only thing he’s looking forward to,” Cierra said.
“My landlord had returned my deposit a few days ago,” she said. As they were parting ways, she wished him good luck on his next renters.
“You might need more of that luck,” he said in reply.
Thanksgiving
Prior to the fire, Cierra had posted on Facebook an invitation for friends who needed a place to eat on Thanksgiving to join her family. She said that invitation is still valid.
“I’m still going to get our groceries. Whatever I have left, I’ll see who needs it.”
A Go Fund Me account has been opened on behalf of Cierra and her sons.
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