On the afternoon of July 30, Abigail Turner was sitting on the couch in her house on Bent Tree Trail when she heard a creaking noise she couldn’t place.
Then Turner, 14, looked through the big windows in front and saw the smoke billowing outside.
She had just one thought: “Get everyone out.”
With her father Michael and her 16-year-old brother Douglas both at work and her mother Lea off with Abigail’s grandmother at a doctor’s appointment, it was up to Turner, a ninth grader at Heritage Academy, to get her three younger siblings out of danger.
And despite being terrified herself, she did.
Turner went to her own room and roused her 3-year-old sister Catie from a nap, then summoned her 9-year-old brother Elijah from the game room across the house and called for 12-year-old Brandon from upstairs. By the time Brandon came down and the four headed outside, the windows had shattered, and smoke filled the whole house.
Thanks to Abigail, the Turners had gotten out — just in time. By that night, despite the best efforts of Columbus and Lowndes County firefighters, the house had burned down.
Despite the tragic circumstances, Turner’s heroism didn’t go unnoticed. On Tuesday morning, she was honored by the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors and Fire Coordinator Neal Austin for her actions.
“You truly are a model citizen for the citizens of Columbus and Lowndes County,” District 2 Supervisor Trip Hairston told Turner at Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting.
The board unanimously passed a resolution commending Turner for her “meritorious” actions, and Austin presented her with a certificate praising a “valiant emergency response” for getting her and her siblings outside unhurt.
“It helps us a great deal when everybody’s out of the house,” Austin said. “It gives us a little peace of mind when we get there.”
All five districts of the county’s volunteer fire service and the Columbus Fire Department joined forces to battle the fire for several hours before it claimed the house that night.
“We had representation from all the districts, which has not been done before,” Austin said. “That was one of my goals when I came: for all of us to work as one county unit. It worked well.”
And though the Turners’ dog Penny, a boxer the family had owned for almost eight years, did not survive the fire, Austin said he was relieved that none of the Turners was killed.
“We didn’t have the exact outcome we wanted, but we did not lose life, and that’s the biggest thing,” Austin said.
Turner told The Dispatch after the ceremony that firefighters were summoned when the house’s fire alarm was triggered in the early stages of the blaze. Once she got her siblings out, she called Lea, who called Michael.
The Turners’ neighbor, Kaleena Richardson, arrived at the house soon afterward and attempted to determine the cause of the fire, but it was too hot and smoky. Turner said the cause remains unknown.
Richardson took the siblings back to her house, where they stayed for the rest of the day as Michael tried to help the fire department extinguish the blaze. That night, with their house gone, the family stayed at Turner’s grandmother’s house on nearby Spivey Road.
The fire happened on a Thursday, and the Turners went to Birmingham for the weekend, trying to clear their minds. They also bought new clothes to replace the ones they lost in the fire.
Turner said all the family was able to save was a few wedding photos and baby pictures before everything else was lost. She said she’ll especially miss the things that were in her room and the space she had made her own.
Turner said she wasn’t exactly sure what was going on at first, but as she realized the seriousness of the fire, it got harder to deal with.
“I was just trying to figure out what was happening, and when I realized what was happening, that’s when I was really upset,” Turner said.
Austin told Turner during the ceremony Tuesday that he’d gone through a similar house fire in his own childhood and could empathize with what she and her family have been experiencing.
“I know sometimes this is hard to forget, and you keep remembering it over and over,” he said.
Turner said she found out Monday night that she’d be receiving commendation from the county — something she didn’t expect but was excited — albeit nervous — to earn.
“I’m honored to receive it because it was hard with everything that was happening,” Turner said.
She said her family plans to rebuild their house, a project expected to take a year and a half or even longer. For now, they’ve been staying at a rental house that does not — could not — feel the same.
“It’s very hard to get used to,” Turner said. “But we’re making it through.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
