School rallies around mother and daughter injured in house fire

A mother who ran through flames to rescue her 6-year-old daughter in an early-morning fire at their Riverside home remained in serious condition at Miami Valley Hospital on Friday.

The fire was reported just before 2:30 a.m. Friday on Sweetleaf Drive.

Firefighters said the mother initially tried to escape out of the garage, but was unable to because the power was out and the garage door wouldn’t open.

She then ran back into the house and through the flames to grab her daughter and pull her to safety.

Tara Garrambone, 36, was transported to Miami Valley Hospital, initially in critical condition, but was upgraded to serious condition. Her daughter, Danae Washington, whose birthday was Friday, suffered minor injuries and was treated at Dayton Children’s Hospital.

Neighbor Janie Long said she saw a yellow glow from inside her house and thought it was strange so she got up to investigate.

“I looked through the dining room and their whole patio was just engulfed in flames. And there was smoke just rolling out from under the eaves,” she said.

She was worried initially whether the mother and daughter were home and had made it out, until she heard them screaming outside.

Danae, a kindergartner, likes to play on Long’s swing set and they both are friendly with neighbors.

“She’s a sweet little girl,” she said.

Now the Mad River Local Schools community is rallying around the family that has suffered a number of blows this holiday season.

Tara Garrambone’s mother, Toni Garrambone, passed away Dec. 5, according to an obituary published in the Dayton Daily News.

The school district posted on its Facebook page that it is collecting cash donations, as well as toys as birthday and Christmas gifts for the injured girl. Danae is a kindergartner at Brantwood Elementary School.

Donations can be delivered to the Mad River Schools Board of Education office, 801 Old Harshman Road, which will be open on Monday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The school said the girl wears size 7-8.

“The students today are actually making birthday cards and get-well cards,” said Brantwood Principal Andrea Rastatter. “She has done a great job this year. She is a student that’s always doing her best, earning behavior awards.”

Firefighters have identified a cause for the fire.

A smoke detector woke the mother, said Riverside Fire Battalion Chief Shon Smith.

“Again, the importance of having a smoke detector is vital to survival in situations like this,” he said. “I don’t know how much they lost as far as, you know, Christmas presents go … but you know, this time of the year is always rough.”

Long said she’s just relieved the mother and daughter were able to make it out.

“I mean, with all that smoke that had to be in there,” Long said. “How they got through that … I can’t imagine. I mean it was horrific. Just horrific.”

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