Hurdland Girl Called a Hero After Rescuing Siblings, Dogs From Fire
*This story has been updated with donation information. Those who wish to make a financial donation to the family can give it to the United State Bank in Edina for Amber Halstead or Sam Russell.
Dog Pulled From Burning Garage Revived After Dramatic Resuscitation
By Echo Menges
HURDLAND, Mo. — Jan. 29, 2026 — Volunteer firefighters from three departments — Hurdland, Baring and Edina — responded to a structure fire at 508 North Second Street in Hurdland Thursday morning. Firefighters were called at approximately 8 a.m. and arrived to find the home fully engulfed in flames. They began an hourslong fight to contain the fire.
The home was occupied by two adults, Sam Russell, 43, and Amber Halstead, 39, and four children — a 17-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl, and two 9-year-old boys — along with nine dogs, including several puppies.
The family reported trying to extinguish an electrical fire the evening before, when a breaker tripped and smoke was noticed coming from an upstairs crawl space.
The 17-year-old girl reported climbing into the second-floor crawl space to extinguish the fire using a water hose and a fire extinguisher.
“I was the only one who would fit,” the girl told The Edina Sentinel. “I know you’re not supposed to use water on an electrical fire, but that’s all we had.”
Halstead reported she was at work and Russell was at home with the children on Wednesday evening when the electrical fire occurred.
The family reported not calling the fire department because they thought the fire was put out.
“It wasn’t out,” said Hurdland VFD Fire Chief Thomas Boatman. “It was smoldering in the walls all night long. They’re lucky to be alive.”
Russell left for work in the early morning hours before the rest of the family woke up. When they did, they woke to a house full of smoke.
“My mom told me to get the kids and the dogs out,” said the girl. “So I did. I got the kids out first and then the dogs.”
The younger children were evacuated first, followed by the puppies and most of the older dogs — except for one, Ollie, who ran back into the burning home and was not able to be retrieved by Halstead or her daughter.
“He kept going back in and we couldn’t get to him,” said the girl.
A neighbor and owner of the property, Justin Newton, was alerted to the fire when someone banged on his door.
“I don’t know who it was. Just a bang on the door, and I saw the fire,” Newton told The Edina Sentinel. “I helped get some of the dogs out.”
Flames shoot from the two-story home at 508 North Second Street in Hurdland, Mo., on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. This photo, taken by a resident shortly after volunteer firefighters began arriving, shows the extent of the blaze as it spread rapidly through the two-story structure. Photo submitted
Over an hour into the firefight, Boatman went back into the burning garage while other volunteer firefighters beat back flames with water hoses to clear a path before he emerged with a lifeless dog — Ollie.
Boatman brought the dog away from the structure, laid him on the ground, and began performing CPR with the help of Hurdland volunteer firefighter Evan Cardwell.
Hurdland Volunteer Fire Department Chief Thomas Boatman, right of garage, prepares to enter a burning structure to rescue a family dog trapped inside during a house fire on North Second Street in Hurdland, Mo. Firefighters from Hurdland, Baring and Edina responded to the blaze around 8 a.m. Photo by Echo Menges
Boatman, partially obscured by smoke at right, carries the unresponsive dog, Ollie, from the burning home while firefighters from surrounding departments hold back flames and provide support. Photo by Echo Menges
After pulling the dog from the fire, Boatman kneels beside Ollie, throwing his helmet off to begin resuscitation. The dog was not breathing at the time. Photo by Echo Menges
Boatman begins mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Ollie, a family pet pulled from the burning home. Firefighters and neighbors worked together to revive the dog using CPR and oxygen equipment. Photo by Echo Menges
Firefighters and bystanders performed chest compressions and administered oxygen to Ollie, who was unresponsive after being pulled from the fire. Volunteer firefighters look back at the rescue effort after working to push back flames so the dog could be rescued from the fire. Ollie eventually began breathing on his own during the resuscitation effort. Photo by Echo Menges
Bystanders — including Sam Russell, Hurdland resident Clint Worthington and this reporter — took over the resuscitation effort as the firefighters were needed to continue fighting the blaze.
Boatman turned on his self-contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA, which was used to force oxygen into the dog’s lungs while chest compressions and sternum rubs continued until Ollie began to breathe on his own.
Throughout the firefight, the children and other dogs stayed warm inside a minivan parked across the street from the home. Some of them were without socks and shoes, which spoke to the volatility of the fire and their need to evacuate quickly.
Elsewhere on the property, three pet pigs, a goose and a duck were located unharmed.
Three pet pigs roam near a vehicle on the property of a burned home in Hurdland, Mo., on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. The pigs, along with a goose and a duck, were found unharmed after a fire destroyed the family’s house earlier that morning. Photo by Echo Menges
“It’s all gone,” said a distraught Halstead. “Everything’s gone.”
Knox County Ministerial Alliance President Pastor the Rev. Brian Burton also responded to the scene during the firefight, initiating an emergency clothing effort through The Clothes Closet in Edina, a food voucher for the family at C&R Market in Edina, and immediate lodging at the T&T Motel in Edina. He also left to get food for the family, who had not eaten through the morning hours.
“I asked if they needed anything, and the kids were hungry. They asked if I had any food, and they were worried about the dog, Ollie,” Burton told The Edina Sentinel. “They just wanted to know if Ollie was okay.”
Burton brought every kind of Hostess donuts, chocolate milk and dog food back to the scene. He also fed the pigs — who were wandering the scene throughout the firefight — himself.
“This is what’s so great about a community like this. We help each other where we can,” said Burton. “When someone’s in trouble, people just fall in line and pitch in. They don’t have to be asked. We just do it. The Novelty Christian Church is helping — and The Clothes Closet, Ministerial Alliance. There’s a food voucher waiting for the family at C&R. They have a couple of rooms at the motel for the night. That’s pretty incredible.”
The Knox County Ambulance District also responded to the fire and remained on standby throughout. Early on, KCAD Co-Manager Deanna McKenzie reported the family’s displacement to the American Red Cross, which responded quickly with emergency care packs and more than a dozen blankets.
Other emergency personnel responding to the fire included a lineman from Ameren Missouri, who disconnected power to the burning structure, and Knox County Sheriff Carl Knoche.
According to Boatman, the Missouri Fire Marshal will not be called to investigate the cause of the fire because the property owner did not carry insurance on the building, and it is known that the fire was electrical in nature.
“Always call the fire department to check, even if you think you put a fire out. We have equipment like heat sensors that can ensure the structure is safe. They all could have died in there,” said Boatman. “That girl is a hero. She got everybody out. This could have been a lot worse.”
Ollie regained consciousness at the scene but was still in distress. He was taken by Russell to the Kirksville Small Animal Hospital, where he is being treated for smoke inhalation and dehydration. It is unknown if he will pull through. Russell said it will be a few days before more is known about Ollie’s condition. According to Halstead, the estimated fee to treat Ollie is more than $1,200, which the family cannot afford.
It is unknown where the remaining eight dogs, three pigs, goose and duck will be placed.
Clothing sizes for the family have been given to the Ministerial Alliance.
According to Sheriff Knoche, the KCSO is investigating the fire, along with the Missouri Division of Family Services.