'We were just so grateful to be alive': six-year-old boy meets the Ottawa firefighters that helped to save his life
It was an emotional reunion on Thursday afternoon as a six-year-old boy met the Ottawa firefighters that helped to save his life.
Cody McNeil was only a toddler when a humidifier by his crib caught fire in February 2017.
"I just remember telling him the fire was in his room and grabbing him before running outside and sitting in our mini van, where I called 911," Tammy McNeil, Cody’s mother, said.
A fire alarm alerted the boy’s parents to the smoke and flames.
"She opened the door to his room and that’s where she saw the actual humidifier on fire," Chris McNeil, Cody’s father, said.
The McNeils got out of their Kanata home within minutes and before the firefighters arrived.
"A working smoke alarm is definitely why Cody is alive," said Acting District Chief Steve Styles of Ottawa Fire Services.
"We were just so grateful to be alive," Tammy McNeil said. "Yes, he was injured, but he was alive and we were alive, so that’s what kept us going."
At the time of the incident, the toddler had third-degree burns and was given advanced life-support before being taken to hospital in critical condition.
Five years later, the child met the crew that helped to treat him on the scene and save his life.The firefighters gave him a tour of the station fire truck and let him check out the gear.
"It feels like I’m part of the team," Cody said.
His father adding that the experience was cathartic for everybody.
"He likes to know what happened because he doesn’t remember it," Chris McNeil said. "It gives us a chance to fill in some of the blanks for him as well as see the people involved and thank them personally."
While McNeil still lives with scars from the fire and after recovering from three surgeries and multiple skin grafts, the incident hasn’t held him back as he remains energetic and happy all these years later.
"He’s a vibrant young boy, he likes to sing and dance," said his mother.
After a special visit, Cody took home a coin and hat from the firefighters to always remember the crew that changed his life.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
LIVE @ 1:15 PT B.C. premier to give announcement related to public drug use
B.C.'s premier is scheduled to give an update Friday about public drug use in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.