Hasani Little, a third grader at the Shaw Elementary School, played a big man’s role on the morning of Dec. 2 when fire broke out at his home on Lucerne Street.

He was asleep when he became aware of the fire in the three-decker he shares with his mom and four siblings. He first woke up his family, then alerted his neighbors as well, including a mother and her newborn baby. Then, he made sure everyone was evacuated from the house before he came out and let the fire crews take over.

On Monday morning, Boston Fire Union Local 718, city councillors, and the Boston Public Schools honored Little for his bravery in a small ceremony in the Norfolk Street school’s library.

“Any time you see a firefighter, we’re there to make things better,” said union president Sam Dillon. “Sometimes, we even need help, and that’s where our friend stepped in. We know what he felt like and that he must have been scared, but he still made sure everyone was safe. His actions showed bravery, courage, and heroism and he put himself in great danger, but they were directly related to the safety and survival of others,” Dillon added.

“For Hasani to be so brave, I still can’t imagine how he did it,” said his mother, Geneva Davis while fighting back tears. “I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t think straight, but he was able to get his siblings, ages 3 to 5, up and out of the home. He saved his siblings, and he saved our neighbor and newborn baby.”

Hasani was a young man of few words at the ceremony, but he did offer a clue about his future: “I want to be a fireman.”

The ceremony was in part bittersweet for the family, as they lost everything in the fire and have been in domestic limbo ever since. Davis said the school has been instrumental in helping them, as has the Red Cross.

“Our life has been complicated with many different scenarios,” said Davis. “The fire couldn’t have happened at a worse time for us, but the support of this school and community has helped us so much…So many people are forgotten and thanks for not allowing us to fall by the wayside. So many people do, but thank you for seeing us and helping us.”

In comments afterward, Davis encouraged the city and aid organizations to revise policies when it comes to emergency homelessness and housing.

“Since the fire happened, it’s been very hard for me, but I can advocate for myself,” she said. “There are others that can’t. I urge the city council and the organizations to change the parameters for people who are homeless due to fire and disasters. I can’t qualify for emergency housing because I don’t have birth certificates or other documents. They need these documents that we lost in the fire. All homelessness situations are not the same…It’s rare that someone has a fire, and they can run back in and grab their important documents.”