Monday, August 30, 2010

Child treads water for hours under burning house

A firefighter's vigilence saved a trapped boy's life in Trenton overnight, but his brother was not so lucky. A rowhouse in the unit block of Vine Street was in flames when firefighters arrived at about 12:15 a.m., according to Battalion Chief David Turner. A mother jumped from a window, and firefighter got two of her children out as well, but two boys were apparently still inside.

Water was poured on several homes for a couple of hours, to extinguish all the flames and hot spots. Then Battalion Chief John Gribbin knelt to check a basement window, and was surprised to see a pair of eyes looking back him. There was a boy treading water.



"He pulled his hand out of the water and he waved at me," Gribbin said. "I told him to hang in there, we're coming to get him." He advised the boy to cling to a water heater. Another firefighter brought the boy out to safety, amid cheers from neighbours.

The body of a fourth child was found inside, however. The rest of the family was taken to a hospital for treatment. A firefighter who reported chest pains was also evaluated at a hospital and released. The fire, which was officially under control just before 3 a.m., is under investigation.

You can see video of Battalion Chief John Gribbin talking about the rescue at the bottom of this page.

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