14-year-old saves family in early morning Detroit house fire

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A Detroit teen saved his family from a house fire early this morning.

It was at 3 a.m. Tuesday and 14-year-old William Hopes had trouble falling asleep in his home on Alpine Street in Detroit. 

Since he's on Spring Break and did not have to get up early to go to school he decided to watch videos

"I started watching YouTube on my TV," William said.

While everyone slept, William smelled smoke coming from the kitchen.

"The whole house was covered in flames at the top," he said. "I saw the stove on fire."

William jumped into action to save his mom and two siblings, trying to wake them up.

He says his mother was in a deep sleep so he showed Fox 2 how he woke her up as the flames made their way through the house.

"He did get me up, the man said I would have died in there," LaDora Hill said.

And William says when his mom tried to go back inside the burning house he stopped her from doing so 

LaDora Hill says if her son had not been awake they might be planning funerals instead of celebrating life 

"He's so mature and brave, he's braver than me," said Hill. "I am so proud of him."

Hill admits smoke detectors inside her home did not have working batteries and she was using the stove to heat the home.

"We had a flood in the basement and the furnace messed up and I was using the stove to keep upstairs warm," Hill said. "But it never caused any problems before so I don't know what happened now."

Hill says after the fire she hopes others will learn from her story.

"Insurance and smoke detectors," she said. "We just have to be more careful."

The family lost everything and they're hoping the community can help them get back on their feet

If you would like to donate to their gofundme account, go to www.gofundme.com/f/hill-family-gofund-me

"I need all the support I can get," Hill said.

But for now this family is celebrating that they are alive and the brave actions of a 14-year-old.