KASKA - Casey Szymchack, 18, of Kalkaska, would rather the community focus on the family of John and Anna Booth, who "lost everything" - except the children and their grandfather, thanks to Szymchack's actions.
According to Szymchack, she was able to take Audrie, age 2 and Aaron, age 3 out of the house and put them in the back seat of her Explorer, while she returned to the house to help the children's' grandfather, Gerald Cross, 75, to safety.
"I've been kind of frustrated," she said of the media coverage. "It's not about me. They (the family) lost everything."
In the early morning hours last Thursday, as she was "half asleep" on the couch, the smell of smoke awoke her.
The experienced babysitter with eight years under he belt was babysitting for the Booth family for only the second time, at their home on Leetsville Road.
"It was just a reaction," Szymchack said. "I didn't think about it. I just knew I had to get the kids out.
"I had a hard time with Gerald because he could not breathe without his oxygen."
Szymchack went back into the home to retrieve an oxygen tank.
"It seemed like it took three minutes for the whole thing to happen," she said. "I didn't call my mom until a half an hour to an hour after it happened."
Szymchack said she knew many of the responding officers because her mom, Barb, works at the Kalkaska County Sheriff Department.
"It wasn't until I was ready to leave that we realized my headlights and grill were completely gone, it was so hot," she said. "It's just cosmetic damage."
Szymchack said she had to call her mom again, for a ride home.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Please see information in the shaded area of this article if you are inclined to help the family.
