Inspiring: 5-year-old boy receives award for saving his grandma from fire

His award comes two years after the fact, but it doesn’t make him any less heroic. 

Edmund Jon Nipay was only three years old when he singlehandedly saved his grandma from a house fire in July 2014. 

On Mon, May 2, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) handed him an award — the Gawad Kalasag for Heroic Acts in the individual category — at a ceremony held in Pasig City.

“The Gawad Kalasag is given to those with outstanding contributions in disaster risk reduction and management and humanitarian assistance, and those who exhibit extraordinary courage, heroism and sacrifice in times of emergencies,” Inquirer reports.

Nipay and his grandmother were left in their Isabela home when the fire started. It was triggered by a sudden surge of power when electricity came back after an outage. 

Nipay’s grandmother told him to save himself but the boy continued to push his grandmother’s wheelchair outside the burning house. He even came back to retrieve his grandmother’s cellphone and eyeglasses. 

“If it happens again, I will do it to save my grandmother,” the boy told Inquirer. 

Nipay is one of the 33 individuals and organizations recognized by the NDRRMC. He is the youngest among the awardees.



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