Alabama pastor storms burning house to save little girl, still makes it to church on time

(Video above: An interview with pastor and Alabama Power employee Leo Campbell)

There’s one thing Leo Campbell has learned about miracles: they may not happen at the most convenient time. The Tensaw pastor and Alabama Power employee’s Easter began just as any other Sunday.

But just a few minutes from his home, he learned a lesson that would not only shape his sermon, but his life. Campbell drove by a burning home where a 4-year-old girl was battling for her life.

Not knowing the full picture, Campbell debated if he should stop after seeing several people already at the house. After all, his family and congregants would be waiting and he didn’t want to be late for Easter services. But he chose to stop and check out the situation. He’s grateful he did.

Campbell succeeded in rescuing little Simone Floyd against all odds, even when other rescue attempts failed. Two men had gone through a front window, but heavy smoke aborted each of their missions.

Not knowing about the earlier rescue attempts, Campbell entered the smoky house through a side window. He said it wasn’t easy.

“You have to understand, I’m no small guy. I stand 6 feet 5 inches tall. Two gentlemen had to lift me by their hands so I could reach the window and break it to get inside.”

Once inside, the smoke challenged Campbell, too, driving him back three times to the window he entered. But thanks to a borrowed shirt, cellphone and bottle of water, Campbell prevailed.

“I used the water to dampen the shirt and cover my head, and the cellphone to provide light while searching for Simone.”

Campbell said he wasn’t going to leave without her, even though others outside pleaded with him to get out of the burning house because firefighters were on the way. His instincts were correct, because paramedics later told him had Simone stayed in the home just two minutes longer, the outcome could have been deadly.

“Simone is alive and healthy and I’m grateful for that,” he said.

Campbell said the little girl didn’t talk much while she was in the hospital following her harrowing experience, but she did muster the courage to ask one question.

“The only thing she mentioned was, ‘Where are my Skittles?’ So my wife promised to bring her a bag of Skittles.”

Campbell made it to church with 10 minutes to spare before the 11 a.m. services began, but outside of a minor reference to the dramatic rescue, the congregation knew nothing of their pastor’s ordeal.

“I wasn’t going to tell anyone. I’d only briefly referenced what happened at church. But my daughter called the news station.”

When he watched the news coverage, he learned of the two other unsuccessful rescue attempts.

“We get caught up thinking, ‘What will happen if I stop?’, when we should be asking, ‘What will happen if I don’t stop?’ We never understand the impact we can have on people if we take the time to stop and help.”

This story by Keisa Sharpe originally appeared on the Alabama NewsCenter.