He Was Told to Go to Bed. His Disobedience Saved Them

Parents seeking a silver lining in the never-ending battle of getting their kids to get some shut-eye may want to chat with Delaware mom Angela Marie Borden. That's because her 13-year-old son wouldn't listen to her and go to sleep Tuesday night, opting instead to settle in for some Netflix, and his stubbornness may have saved their lives. Damir Carter was still glued to the TV—WGRZ says he was binge-watching The Flash—around 1:30am when he suddenly smelled smoke. "Then I saw the fire," he tells WPVI. "When I saw that, I started yelling for my mom. ... If Netflix wasn't there, I probably would have went to sleep."

Borden says she doesn't know what would have happened if Damir hadn't been sneaking some boob tube and been awake to alert her; her husband was working an overnight shift and wasn't in the Minquadale home. "As soon as I found out, it was about four minutes and my kitchen was in flames," she says. Borden tells the Delaware News Journal that she was told a spark from an electrical outlet started the fire due to the home's breaker box pulling in too much power. NECN reports eight pets died in the blaze: four dogs, three bearded dragons, and a cat. The family lost another home to a fire four years ago. A GoFundMe has been started in the family's name to help them get back on their feet. As for Damir's late-night disobedience: "He won't get grounded this time," Borden tells WPVI. (More uplifting news stories.)