Weeks after winning first pageant, Missouri 6-year-old called 911 as her home burned

Sporting a silver crown, bedazzled sash and pink medallion, Bentlee Graham eagerly waved to each driver who passed her family's home in Buffalo on Thursday morning.

Six-year-old Graham was crowned National American Little Miss Missouri Covergirl Princess in July — her first year participating in a pageant — and will perform at the National American Little Miss pageant in Orlando, Florida this fall. But Bentlee hasn't had much time to celebrate. Two weeks ago, a fire caused by a kitchen appliance engulfed the Grahams' home, causing smoke damage throughout the entire house and leaving the family residing in an RV.

When her home caught fire, Graham was the one who called 911 and the first to exit the burning house. To honor her efforts, the Missouri State Fire Marshal is awarding Graham for her bravery at the Pleasant Hope fire station on Friday morning.

'She was amazing'

On the evening of Friday, Aug. 4, Bentlee's mother, Casey Graham, turned on the oven for dinner. The oven smelled a bit off, like when cheese from a pizza is burning at the bottom, Casey Graham said, so she turned on the oven's self cleaner. She added that every time she uses the oven's self-cleaning function, the kitchen's smoke detector goes off, so she wasn't surprised when it started to ring.

Waiting for the oven to preheat, Casey Graham went back to her bedroom where Bentlee was watching a movie. Because the smoke detector was still going off, she shut the door behind her so the two could hear the movie.

"I was not in there for five minutes. I plugged my phone in the charger ... and the next thing you know, the hallway smoke detector started going off," Casey Graham said. "Since we've lived here we've never heard those go off ever. I opened the bedroom door and I mean, black smoke just rolled in."

Upon seeing the smoke herself, Bentlee grabbed a phone to dial 911.

"She was amazing," Casey Graham said about her daughter.

The dispatcher advised they exit from the nearest door, but mother and daughter were trapped on the side of the house without any exterior doors. The dispatcher then recommended Casey Graham take off a window screen in the bedroom and the two crawl out, but the window wouldn't budge. Casey Graham then grabbed a hammer she had in the bedroom and began to smash the window's glass out.

"There was these jagged pieces of glass everywhere and I just like was in shock or something and I just kept imagining (Bentlee) getting cut and I just froze," Casey Graham said. "(Bentlee) started throwing pillows out the window, grabs a pillow and just surfs out the window all by herself. Once she jumped, I jumped. I was just so scared she was going to get sliced up but she didn't have one scratch on her."

Forty minutes after Bentlee made the call to 911, firefighters showed up. In the meantime, neighbors driving by stopped to help the mother and daughter. Among them was Ty Richner, who saved Bentlee's cat Kiki from the burning house, moved Bentlee's side-by-side from out of the garage and ran the Grahams' garden hose into the house to help keep down the flames.

Once emergency personnel arrived, Casey Graham was taken to the hospital because her carbon monoxide level was recorded at 6 ppm (10 ppm is considered deadly for human adults). She did not sustain any permanent injuries.

Initially, Casey thought the fire was caused by the oven self-cleaning, but the family later learned it was their coffee maker that had sparked the fire.

Excluding damages, family hopes to raise $20,000 for pageantry trip

Bentlee and her mother sat on the front porch of their home Thursday morning, as Kiki the cat wandered in and out of the front door leading to an empty, blackened living room. Casey Graham said all of the family's belongings are smoke damaged and much of the house is water damaged. The family is awaiting a response from its insurance company to prepare for next steps, but Casey Graham said the family will likely gut and rebuild the entire house.

Until then, Bentlee, her mother and dad, Matt Graham, are living in an RV that belongs to Casey Graham's dad and stepmom.

Casey Graham said belongings lost in the fire included more than $15,000 worth of items that the family planned to sell in an auction to raise money for Bentlee's trip to Orlando. The National American Miss system will pay for the Grahams' hotel stay, but the family must pay the rest — about $20,000 in total, Casey Graham said.

"We're starting at ground zero," she said.

In effort to make up for money lost, the Grahams plan on hosting a few fundraisers for Bentlee. On Sept. 3, Bentlee will "serve" tables at the Fuddruckers in Branson. Bentlee will receive all of her tips, which will be put toward her trip.

To help the Grahams get back on their feet, family friends created a GoFundMe and Amazon Wishlist, containing basic household items the Grahams need.

Taking home the crown her first year

Bentlee is a country girl, through and through. She races four-wheelers and rides around on side-by-sides, living in jeans and a pair of boots. Casey said pageantry was not something she and her husband anticipated their youngest daughter would be interested in doing.

The Graham's learned about the National American Miss pageant system when Bentlee received a letter in the mail, indicating she had been nominated by a community member to participate. The Grahams are unsure who submitted the letter of nomination but believe it was someone at Bentlee's school or church, Freeway Ministries.

"I thought it would be cool and I thought it would be pretty," Bentlee said of participating in the pageant.

Earlier this year, Bentlee participated in an open call for the pageant at the DoubleTree Hotel in Springfield. Casey said about 80 girls attended the open call in Bentlee's age group and only 20 were selected to move on to the statewide pageant in Columbia. Bentlee was one of the 20 selected and competed in a weekend-long pageant at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia in early July.

In addition to the main pageantry competition, Bentlee entered into a variety of optional contests, including Photogenic, Heart of Service, Casual Wear Modeling and Top Model Search. Out of these, she received the Heart of Service award for completing community service work through her church and placed third in Casual Wear Modeling.

Casey said Bentlee competed with about 47 other girls in her age group to take home the title National American Little Miss Missouri Covergirl Princess. Bentlee said learning she placed first felt "amazing."

If she is able to participate in the national pageant, Bentlee and her family will spend Thanksgiving week in Orlando, Florida. National prize packages include items like custom rhinestone-studded sashes, a custom-designed crown, free photoshoots, accessories, hair and makeup services, a variety of gift cards and many other pampering experiences, according to the National American Miss website.

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Buffalo family struggles to recover from house fire, lost belongings