Barkley’s mother said he enjoyed seeing a real firefighter in action, but that he left before the arrival of an ambulance to treat burn victims.
Stating that he jumped for joy and began squealing, sources confirmed area child Johnny Barkley was visibly excited at seeing a real-life fire truck rushing towards an apartment complex engulfed in flames.
“I was just sitting on a park bench when I hear this siren,” park visitor Amy Simons told reporters. “And as soon as this little kid hears it he turns around and starts pointing and cheering. It was precious.”
Barkley, a ten-year-old elementary school student, reportedly then hustled towards the street to get a better view of the vehicle rushing to save roughly three hundred people’s homes from further destruction.
The fire truck, which did not make it in time to save husband and wife John and Samantha Freedman, was driven by volunteer firefighter Andy Wick. “I saw a little kid jumping around and waving at me as we drove by the park,” he told reporters, “so I layed on the horn extra long for him. Kids love it when we do that.”
Sources in the park reported that the Barkley family swooned and took pictures of their child admiring the passing truck, which was locked in a race against time as the building’s imminent collapse threatened to spread the fire to surrounding homes and businesses.
At press time, the death toll had climbed to four people.
