Port Richmond boy dies after house fire

Word that little Nicholas Budzilo had died spread fast in his Port Richmond neighborhood.

Philadelphia firefighters pulled the 3-year-old from a burning rowhouse Tuesday, but the boy's injuries were too severe. He died about 7 a.m. Wednesday.

"There couldn't have been a sweeter kid in the world," said his uncle Dale Thrash.

Nicholas's two brothers and his grandfather, also burned in the fire, were in bad shape but "fighting," family members said. At least the boys' mother, Debbie Proud, was going to be all right. She was released from the hospital Wednesday, and even made her way to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children to visit her boys. Six months pregnant, she did not lose her baby.

Outside St. Christopher's, Thrash presented a statement from the family that thanked people for their "prayers and donations."

"They would like to state that Nicholas will be truly missed and that the two other children are still in need of everyone's prayers and support," the statement said. "Although only 3, Nicholas brought extreme joy into our lives. He was loving, energetic, and he was loved by all."

Neighbors gathered throughout the scorching day to recount the fire, trade news about the Budzilo family, and figure out how they could help.

A vigil was organized for 8 p.m., and one neighbor inquired about setting up sites to collect money at the Wawa store on Richmond Street, and clothes and other items at the Pathmark grocery on Aramingo Avenue.

"They're going to need all that stuff to start over," said JoJo Kane, a neighbor. "We're all chipping in."

Investigators poked their way through the blackened, gutted home, but did not release the cause of the fire, which began around 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters knocked on doors in the afternoon, offering to check smoke detectors and replace them or install new ones.

The Budzilo home, at Edgemont and Madison Streets, had working smoke detectors. Proud and the boys' grandfather, Eugene Budzilo, escaped the blaze. Proud was clutching her 1-year-old, Jacob.

Margie Gallagher said she took the toddler from his mother. She said a police officer told her to squeeze his nose and breath into his mouth.

"They told me I saved him, but it doesn't give me any consolation, because he was so burned," she said. "All I keep thinking about is that baby's eyes and his mother's eyes looking at me. That's going to haunt me."

Neighbors and fire officials said Proud and Eugene Budzilo tried to rescue Nicholas and his 5-year-old brother, Christopher, but were repelled by the flames.

Firefighters plucked the boys from the second story, where the fire appeared to have started. The boys' father, Christopher, was at work at the time.

Eugene Budzilo had owned the home for decades, but sold the property recently. The family was planning to move within 30 days.

Friends and family said the grandfather constantly played with the boys, taking them fishing in the Delaware River and pulling them through the snow in a cardboard box during this winter's blizzards.

The boys' family is large - Thrash estimated that he has 72 nieces and nephews, of whom the boys' father is one. He said more than 100 family members had been to the hospital.

"When we lose someone, we all feel it," he said.

The family said no funeral arrangements would be made for Nicholas until his grandfather's condition improved. Eugene Budzilo was being treated at Temple University Hospital.

Mia Cini, an aunt, said Nicholas had been put down for a nap before the fire started with the door closed, which she believes trapped smoke in the room. The smoke detectors were in the hallway and stairwell.

"If you're going to lay a child down, don't close the door," she urged. "If there's a fire, you don't have that smoke, you don't have that warning."

Donations to the Budzilo family may be sent in care of Beneficial Bank, 2514 Aramingo Ave., Philadelphia 19125.