Actions, not size or age, are makings of a hero

Heroes come in all sizes, which is a good thing for a little boy living in Clinton.

Recently, 3-year-old Lucas Helland displayed courage and common sense in two separate emergency situations, saving the life of his toddler brother and helping his mother when she hurt herself too badly to call for aid herself.

On Aug. 25 he pulled Logan, 2, away from a burning pickup truck and ran for help. Five days prior, he used a cell phone to call for help when his mother, Carla Helland fell.

The most recent event occurred Aug. 25 at 4:15 p.m. when Lucas and Logan were playing alongside their father’s 1985 Chevrolet S10 pickup. The pickup suddenly burst into flames, which quickly engulfed the interior and engine compartment.

When questioned about the incident the young hero says simply, “My Dad’s truck got fired on.”

“I runned and put Logan in the garage,” he said. “I was scared.”

As the flames burst through the windows and from under the hood, Lucas grabbed his brother’s arm and began pulling him to safety, reacting before his mother knew what was happening.

She said she was inside the family home when she heard Lucas screaming that the truck is on fire.

“My first thought was ‘Are the kids all right,’” she said.

As she ran toward the front yard, she met Lucas pulling his younger brother by the arm. She then called 911 and her husband, Allyn, who works a mile from home at Simmons Garage.

He was home before firefighters arrived and was able to douse the flames, but not before the interior and engine were completely destroyed.

“The fire was probably caused by faulty wiring,” Allyn Helland said.

Helland was able to retrieve his tool box from the bed of the truck before it was destroyed by the fire.

Five days earlier the two boys were with their mother at the family cabin near Sedro-Woolley when Lucas also had to be a hero. Carla Helland said she was standing on a chair hanging new curtains when she lost her balance and fell.

She lost consciousness, but Lucas knew what to do. He grabbed her cell phone and began hitting the memory key sending calls out to other family members including his father and older sister. Allyn Helland did not get the call immediately. He had switched his phone off because its battery was low. When he switched it back on to check for missed calls, he found several from his wife’s number.

“I called her and got Lucas telling me, “Mom is hurt,” he said.

By then Carla Helland had regained consciousness and was able to reassure her husband and children that she would be OK.

When the young hero is congratulated for his quick thinking, he merely shrugs like its something he does everyday.

But when asked his age, Lucas, who celebrated his third birthday on June 18, says with a straight face, “I am 17.”

It may be that his courage is bigger and perhaps older in spirit than he is.

The two boys are the youngest of the Helland’s nine children, who range in age from 2 to 26.

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