Lisle 8-Year-Old, Family Thank 'Heroes' Who Battled House Fire

LISLE, IL — Feb. 15 marks a day that Myra Shaik and her family will never forget. That's the day a fire broke out in the basement of their Lisle home. It's also the day firefighters from Lisle-Woodridge Fire District became heroes to Myra for working to save her family's home.

Myra recently delivered a handwritten note, along with a gifts and cards, to Lisle-Woodridge Fire Fighters Union IAFF Local 2986 to express the gratitude she and her family feel for their heroism that unforgettable day.

The Day of the Fire

On the day of the fire, Myra's stepdad, Raza Siddiqui, was woken up by the smell of something burning. Raza told Patch he got Myra, his wife Sara Sadat and their other children out of the home safely and called 911, just moments before discovering a fully involved fire in the furnace room of the home's basement.

As the family watched Lisle-Woodridge firefighters rush into their home, a neighbor gave Myra a cup of hot chocolate and a pair of socks, as she hadn't had time to put socks on while fleeing the home.

“It was very cold, so that’s why the neighbors gave me hot chocolate and some socks,” Myra told Patch.

The blaze brought out crews from five Lisle-Woodridge firehouses, in addition to firehouses in neighboring towns, Raza told Patch. They saved the family's turtle, in addition to an entire series of Sara's original paintings, which she told Patch she has "held close to her heart" throughout the pandemic.

Despite the firefighters' efforts, the blaze gutted the home, causing so much damage that its entire interior must be rebuilt, Raza explained.

The Aftermath of the Fire

Due to the extent of the fire's damage, Myra and her family will be unable to return to their home for several months. In the meantime, they have been staying with relatives who also live in Lisle.

It is "really an out-of-body experience to be displaced," Raza told Patch, adding that he sometimes goes into autopilot on his way home from work and heads back to their home.

In the meantime, the family is finding normalcy and hope in all kinds of places. For instance, Raza recently found Myra's teddy bear in the remains of the home's interior, washed it and returned it to her.

"It felt nice because I didn't see him for two or three months," Myra told Patch. She explained that she thinks the bear felt "sad" to be apart from her for so long.

Sara told Patch that the family has gotten much closer in the aftermath of the fire. "It made us appreciate each other so much more," she said.

Thanking Their Heroes

In early April, Myra, Raza and Sara headed to IAFF Local 2986 to meet those firefighters whom Raza said, "went so far above and beyond for us."

They met with Fire Medics 1st Class Mike Lorence, Joe Barnes and Mike Rohlicek, in addition to Fire Medic 2nd Class Andrew Bednar, presenting them with games, gift cards from Raza's union, NABET-CWA Local 41 and, of course, the hand-drawn card from Myra.

Myra told Patch she drew a fire truck on the card and picked out games for the firefighters "because they have been working so hard.”

Raza, whose sister is a volunteer firefighter in Massachusetts, said, "Going forward, every Feb. 15 will be when we go and give gifts to the people who gave us a second chance to have some sort of normalcy.”

Since the fire, Myra has become "so much more of a caring individual," Sara told Patch.

That's not the only way the 8-year-old was influenced by each of the firefighters who worked to save her home on Feb. 15.

Myra told Patch, "I want to be a firefighter when I grow up because they’re heroes and I want to be a hero one day.”