The alarm pierced the early April morning, waking up Carleen Caldwell.

"I didn't know what it was right away, but my mom and I figured out it was the fire alarm and I actually went back to bed for awhile," said Caldwell, a senior swimmer at Neshaminy.

"I think all those school fire drills are actually not a good idea because I heard the alarm and didn't believe there was a fire. I thought it was a prank."

Her mother, Jeanie, realized it was no prank.

The building they lived in at the Woodbourne Apartments in Levittown was on fire, and she roused her daughter.

"I didn't think to grab anything. I just threw on a La Salle hoodie and my Neshaminy swimming blanket and ran out," she said. "I didn't think I'd never be in there again."

After alerting neighbors to the blaze and very likely saving their lives, Caldwell and her mother ran outside and watched the building burn to the ground.

"No people were hurt and that's the important thing," she said. "That's all I can ask for. The material things don't matter. It's really a lesson on what's important."

Caldwell had been headed to Shippensburg University for an official visit the following morning, but that was out of the question.

"I had to call my coach [Brian Suter] and ask him to call Shippensburg and tell them I couldn't come," she said. "I felt bad, but I just couldn't go out there."

She and her mother have moved into a new apartment.

"So many people helped us, and it shows how good people really are," she said. "We're so grateful.

"It's been a tough time for us, but our family is stronger. Everyone came together. My older brother, Don, came home from college [Rochester Institute of Technology] to help out."

Literally like a phoenix, Caldwell will rise from the ashes.

"Life goes on," she said. "I'm back at school and my mom is back at work, so everything is pretty much back to normal for us."

Some things remain challenging, like the May 28 prom. Caldwell has a date, Matt Novak, captain of the soccer team at Neshaminy, but no dress.

"I'm not worried," she said. "I'll find something. These things have a way of coming together."

The best news is that Caldwell recently accepted a swimming scholarship from La Salle.

She also considered Towson, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Millersville and Temple. She will major in science.

"I'm really looking forward to that," she said. "It's funny that I ended up going there because I always thought I wanted to go far away and I never thought I wanted to go to school in the city, but this is good because even though I'll live in the dorms and have a real college experience, it's close, so my mom can come to my meets. After having such a tragic experience, I want her to have something to look forward to."

Swimming was a big part of her decision.

"This is the right move for me," she said. "I think I'll fit in on the team."

Neshaminy swim coach Suter is just as thrilled.

"This is very exciting for me as a coach because she's the first swimmer I've had come up through my program and get a Division I scholarship," he said. "This is great for the whole program.

"The younger kids can see that if they progress through the program they can use it as an avenue to college and they can get to that level if they work hard. She's an inspiration to our younger swimmers.

"The way she's been handling losing pretty much everything she owned is incredible. She's amazing."

Caldwell gave up field hockey to concentrate on swimming.

"That was a great decision for me, but I did miss hockey," she said. "One good thing is that two of my friends from hockey, Sara Pettia and Diana Wurst, are both going to La Salle, so we'll be together."

Karen Sangillo can be reached at 215-949-4215 or ksangillo@phillyBurbs.com.

This article was reprinted with permission of the Bucks County Courier Times