Long Island woman rescued from burning home thanks to mother and son neighbors

A Long Island woman who was asleep while her house caught on fire was able escaped in time, thanks to the heroic actions of her neighbors: a mother and her teenage son.

Jovani Moss and his mother Natechia Campbell-Moss sprang into action before emergency personnel arrived to the home on Leighton Court in Melville.

“I was on my phone and I didn’t notice the fire at first,” said the 15-year-old Moss. “But I heard the crackling of the fire and I turned to look and called my mom: ‘Should I go there and get the lady out of the house or should I call 911?”

Campbell-Moss told him to call 911 and she ran out of the house in her pajamas and no jacket — right to her neighbors house.

She said she banged on the door and windows and rang the doorbell but did not hear anything. 

“I started to kick the door. And I kept kicking the door. Finally I got it ajar a little bit, and all of a sudden I saw her standing there and I grabbed her and said ‘Your house is on fire!’” said Campbell-Moss.

Campbell-Moss said the heat from the fire and the crackling sounds told her it was time to leave, but her neighbor stopped her.

“She said wait a minute my cat, she wanted to turn around to get her cat I said no, don’t get your cat. But she ran out of my reach and turned back,” recounted Campbell-Moss. “And she went back to grab some jewelry that she had.”

The homeowner came out and the two of them stood on the lawn as more than 50 firefighters from the Melville Fire Department and beyond battled the blaze.

While Jovani is being credited with reporting the fire, he thinks his mom is pretty tough.

“Pretty brave, when I first saw it I was like, she’s brave!” said Moss. “Not many people would do that.”

Moss is a freshman at Half Hollow Hills High School East and is student of the month — not because of his recent heroic actions, but because he is a great student. His mother, couldn’t be more proud.

“He was aware of what was going on,” said Campbell-Moss. “He was aware of what was going on so I’m very proud of him.”

The fire marshal and the Suffolk Police Arson Squad are investigating. Meliville Fire Chief Don Barclay said the fire was mostly concentrated to a rear living room space. It was unclear if there were working smoke detectors.

This incident has brought even more awareness to Jovani, who won’t soon forget what happened. 

“Be aware. Be aware of your surroundings pick your head up for one second, anything can happen in one second,” he said.