Firefighter reads to little girl involved in accident

• Billings firefighter Ryan Benton was caught on camera reading to a little girl by flashlight after she was involved in a car accident.
• Ryan took the girl to the curb and read to her to calm her down as his fellow responders cleared the scene.
• According to fellow firefighter Cameron Abell, they had a bag that contained donated toys and books to help children calm down in stressful emergency situations.

A now-viral photograph captured the heartwarming moment of a firefighter reading to a little girl by flashlight after she was involved in a car accident.

As the rescue crew were clearing up the scene in Billings on Wednesday night, firefighter Ryan Benton sat with the little girl on the curb and read to her.

Allie Schmalz captured the photo and shared it on Facebook, calling it the “Sweetest thing ever.” The Billings Firefighters Instagram page reposted the photo along with the caption, “It’s the little things.”

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Social media users praised the firefighter and thanked the first responders.

Ryan’s brother, Kyle, and his wife, Kay, commented on the post and shared how it made them proud.

Ryan, who was described as humble by his fellow firefighters, declined an interview with news sources. But his fellow Billings firefighter Cameron Abell talked about the event with KTVQ News.

Cameron said that their first priority on the job is to handle the situation. However, there are also additional circumstances such as these that they need to take care of as well.

He said that Ryan “took it upon himself… to take the time to make those kids feel safe.”

He added, “Ryan’s a really humble guy and he’s probably going to kill me for kind of putting him in the spotlight.”

Ryan didn’t want to be interviewed because he felt that he was only doing his job. “And that’s kind of how we all feel,” Cameron shared. “But we all know when somebody does something like that and gets spotlighted for it. It’s good to recognize their good work.”

Cameron said that their trucks have stuffed toys and bags donated by the Rimrock Credit Union and Usborne Books.

Cameron said, “If we can bring a book in that kind of explains what complicated situations are, kind of explains what firefighters do, and maybe there’s a stuffed plush toy in there,” it could provide a sense of calm and normalcy.

“The sense of calm that maybe we can bring to the children can help the adults calm down as well,” he added.

Source: Daily Mail