Teens who saved woman from house fire honored as community heroes in Children's Gasparilla Parade

TAMPA, Fla. -  To say that Shakur McCrone and Carnell Barton are humbled to be honored at this year’s Children's Gasparilla Parade would be an understatement.

"It means a lot, like the recognition and stuff, because I really don't get it as much. But normally, for me, it was just a random act of kindness. And I didn't really expect much for it," McCrone, one of this year's community heroes, said. 

Dig deeper:

Both McCrone and Barton are being recognized for their heroic efforts in saving a woman from a house fire in Tampa just last year.

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"So we all went outside and me and Shakur were looking down the street to see and we seen the house down there was on fire, our neighbor's house was on the fire. So me and Shakur ran down here while we and Shakir were running down this street," Barton, fellow community hero, said.

At first, they were just observers.

What they're saying:

"My grandma was like, ‘That lady is in her house.’ And we seen a car about the side, so we knew the lady was in the house," Carnell said. 

Carnell made several attempts to get in the house, but had no luck.

"I finally made contact with the lady, and then, I guess, she got up and went to the front, and that's when Shakur helped her," Carnell said.

"She came to the front door, and then I was letting her know it's a fire next door, it's fire next to her, and your house is starting to catch fire. So then by that time, the front of her house by the porch was already in flames," Shakur said. "So then as we're making it down, we're trying to beat the flames that's already on the side of her house. So then we finally make it across the street. And then that's when the firefighters pulled up," Shakur said.

Shakur got the woman to safety — helping in a situation that could’ve turned tragic.

"It feels good knowing that he saved someone," Shakur said.

Big picture view:

Spreading the message of hope and kindness down this year’s parade route.

READ MORE: Children’s Gasparilla 2026 Guide: Here’s what to know

"If you have a good instinct, and you know you're doing something for a good reason, go with it. But don't intent, like he said, don't intentionally put yourself in harm's way. But if you feel you can do it without being in harm's way and still help somebody or help yourself at the end of the day, you should go ahead and do it," Carnell said.

Both Carnell and Shakur were most excited about throwing beads and interacting with the crowd.

For more information on the parade, click here.