The fire was reported at 11:11 a.m. Dec. 15 and crews arrived four minutes later, finding the resident and two of her four children who had escaped the blaze. The mother sustained injuries including frostbite, cuts and smoke inhalation in an attempt to rescue the other children but was unable to due to the severity of the fire.
“She was actively engaged in trying to rescue her children but the growth and volume of fire that was in the home was just too much for her to be able to accomplish it, but she went harder than almost everyone I know to try and get them,” King said.
The mother escaped with two of her children when she awoke to a loud noise because they were with her in the living room, King said. She later broke a window with her bare hands in an attempt to rescue her children and required stitches.
Firefighters rescued the two children who remained in the home through a bedroom window. The children were then transported to Mercy Health - Springfield Regional Medical Center, from where they were transported via a medical helicopter to Dayton Children’s Hospital. They were then sent to Shriners Children for burn care.
The five-year-old girl sustained full thickness and partial thickness burns to 70% of her body, King said. While she remains in critical condition, King said her mother said she has improved since a successful surgery.
The young boy who died provided organ donations that could save the lives of eight to 10 other children, King said, calling it “a silver lining” in the tragic situation.
The fire has been ruled accidental, with the cause being combustible materials sitting too close to a space heater, King said. There were no working smoke detectors in the home, which could have had an impact in this fire, he said.
King urged everyone to ensure they have working smoke detectors in their home. Springfield, like most fire departments, offers free smoke detectors and installation by appointment.
The fire chief also said space heaters should always have at least three feet of open space around them and be plugged into their own outlet, rather than a power strip (even if it has a surge protector) or an extension cord, in order to avoid increasing the draw of power which can lead to an electrical fire.
Residents should consider practice fire drills accounting for smoke and the need for various methods of escape, King said.
Four firefighters were injured while carrying out rescue operations, King said, and they were released back to work the same day. All crews involved have had access to mental health services following the “emotionally charged” event, he said.
The first responding firefighters put themselves “at significant risk” by quickly entering the home with no handlines or water, therefore no protection, King said, which contributed to the fast initial rescue. While they were searching the house for the second child, one of the ceilings collapsed on top of them due to “a complete inversion of the heat,” King said, meaning the heat above them came down to the first floor onto them.
“They felt like they had a significant catastrophe occurring so they did an emergency bailout, and then once we discovered that it was just the inversion of the ceiling, they immediately went straight to continuing the search efforts,” King said.
The Broadway Street home sustained significant damage to the rafters, which is often an indication that the structure is a total loss, King said, but the department will wait on its building officials to evaluate it before making a determination.
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