Baby and woman die in Philly house fire; 3 others injured
Authorities said a neighbor saved a child by encouraging the child to jump from the burning house and catching that child.
A 7-month-old boy and a 70-year-old woman died as a result of a fire Saturday night in a West Mount Airy home, where three others were injured, police said.
Authorities said a neighbor saved another child from the burning two-story twin home on the 300 block of West Mount Airy Avenue.
Police said the fire was reported around 8:45 p.m. When firefighters arrived, the home was fully engulfed, police said. Elaine Morris was found unresponsive in the front bedroom on the second floor and was pronounced dead at 8:51 p.m., police said. The baby, Ren Fields, who was also found unresponsive, died at Einstein Medical Center at 9:51 p.m., police said.
Assistant Fire Chief Harry Bannan told reporters at the scene Saturday night that a neighbor encouraged a child on the second floor to jump and caught the child.
“They both fell but the neighbor broke that child’s fall,” Bannan said in an interview shown on NBC10. “That neighbor, through his actions, prevented some serious injuries to that child.”
Police said a 33-year-old woman was in the kitchen when she heard a 7-year-old boy in the home yell “fire.” She saw a blanket on fire but was unable to extinguish the flames, police said.
The woman, the 7-year-old and and an 8-year-old boy all managed to get out of the house and were treated at Einstein for minor injuries and released, police said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.