Young Girl Saves 34 From Fast-Moving Fire

(CBS) PATERSON, N.J. A 9-year old girl is being hailed as a hero after saving more than 30 members of her immediate and extended family from a fast moving fire in Paterson, New Jersey.

Shyra Torres, 9, woke before dawn Saturday and saw a fire beginning to spread while her mother, grandparents, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles slept. She said an unusual crackling noise punctured her dreams.

She had fallen asleep watching cartoons with her sister and immediately rushed to wake her mother sleeping in a rear bedroom.

At first her mother didn't believe her, but she was insistent and able to get everyone to safety.

“She thought I was joking, but I wasn't,” said Shrya Torres. “I ran and said ‘Tasha, Tasha, wake up’ and we all got out of the house.”

Natasha, Shyra’s 12-year-old sister woke up and helped spread the alarm, but gives her little sister all the credit.

“If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be here right now,” said Natasha Torres. She too, couldn’t believe what was happening. "When I first woke up," she told CBS 2 News, "I thought it was a dream."

The 34 people living in three row houses on Paterson Avenue are alive because they got out in time following the efforts of the two young sisters.

The grateful relatives made t-shirts with "Hero of Paterson Avenue" written on them over a picture of Shyra. They wore the shirts for a family gathering Sunday evening at an aunt's house directly across the street from the fire scene.

“She caught it before the smoke alarms went off,” said Shyra Torres’ grandfather William Redner. “After she woke us up they started going.”

“She woke everybody up,” added Karen Joachim, her great-aunt. “She really is a hero.”

The 9-year-old, aware of her new hero status, plans to be a teacher when she's older.

The celebration Sunday night seemed at odds with the grim fire scene beyond the wooden barricades on Paterson Avenue. All their worldly possessions are buried in the remains of the houses, including school clothes and supplies for next month, but that hardly seemed to matter.

It was literally a celebration of life, as cousins, aunts, and uncles all ate, drank and basked in each other's company. All 34 of the displaced have found places to sleep with nearby relatives. Redner says strangers have come by offering help.

"All in all, " he told CBS 2, "it's a good day."

That's My Baby

OH NOOOOOOOO!!

Be Careful the First Step it's a Doozy

Very Touching Photo

Convenience with a Inconvenience

People must go there just for the food

Someone Got Waited On

American Lives Needs Your Help

SPREAD the WORD and PICTURES
Everyone person that lives and works in the flooded areas has been affected and desperately needs your help.

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HERE IS FIVE OUT OF MANY PICTURES

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12-Step Internet Recovery Program

1. I will have a cup of coffee in the morning and read my newspaper like I used to, before the Internet.

2. I will eat breakfast with a knife and fork and not with one hand typing.

3. I will get dressed before noon.

4. I will make an attempt to clean the house, wash clothes, and plan dinner before even thinking of the Internet.

5. I will sit down and write a letter to those unfortunate few friends and family that are Internet-deprived.

6. I will call someone on the phone who I cannot contact via the Internet.

7. I will read a book...if I still remember how.

8. I will listen to those around me and their needs and stop telling them to turn the TV down so I can hear the music on the Internet.

9. I will not be tempted during TV commercials to check for email.

10. I will try and get out of the house at least once a week, if it is necessary or not.

11. I will remember that my bank is not forgiving if I forget to balance my checkbook because I was too busy on the Internet.

12. Last, but not least, I will remember that I must go to bed sometime ... and the Internet will always be there tomorrow!

Surprise............

A couple goes for a meal at a Chinese restaurant and orders the "Chicken Surprise."

The waiter brings the meal, served in a lidded cast iron pot.

Just as the wife is about to serve herself, the lid of the pot rises lightly and she briefly sees two beady little eyes looking around before the lid slams back down.

"Good grief, did you see that?" she asks her husband.

He hasn't, so she asks him to look in the pot. He reaches for it and again the lid rises, and he sees two little eyes looking around before it slams down.

Rather perturbed, he calls the waiter over, explains what is happening, and demands an explanation.

"Please sir," says the waiter, "what you order?"

The husband replies, "Chicken Surprise."

"Ah, so sorry," says the waiter, "I brought you Peeking Duck."