For most middle schoolers, the goal is to blend in.
It's hard to do that when you help get yourself and your little sister out of a burning house.
That's the case for 12-year-old Edgewood Middle School seventh-grader Cody Shafer.
Cody and his 9-year-old sister, Shaina, were at their Wausau Street home after school Sept. 15 when Cody noticed smoke and fire in the home."I yelled 'fire' and tried to get (Shaina) out of the house," said Cody. "At first she didn't believe me."
Cody said his little sister was certain he was just playing a joke on her with a fog machine he had.
After a little bit of convincing, Cody was able to get his sister and himself out of the house and to a neighbor's home where fire crews were called.
After fire crews were called, he called his mother, Sherri Shafer.
"He called my work and said there was a fire," said Sherri. "He took off and headed down to the neighbor's."
Though Cody was able to stay composed and get him and his sister out, he doesn't think he's a hero.
"I was just trying to get us out of the house," said Cody.
"He did the right thing," said Sherri Shafer.
Since the fire, the Shafers had stayed at a local hotel. That changed Monday when the family moved into a rental home they'll be staying in for the next four to six months.
For Cody, word of his actions spread, well, like wildfire throughout Edgewood.
And despite his heroic actions, Cody still has the same relationship with his little sister.
"No way," said Cody with a slight smile when asked if she's been any easier to deal with since the fire.
Sherri said fire crews told her the fire started from an electrical short in a closet.
