THE YOUNG AND THE ELDERLY ARE THE MOST FREQUENT VICTIMS OF HOUSE FIRES: A 4-YR OLD DIES IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA HOUSE FIRE
February 9, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) –
A
4-year-old girl died Sunday night following a house fire in St. Paul.
According to the St. Paul Fire
Department, the fire started around 8:30 p.m. in a first-floor bedroom of a
home on 500 block of Jessamine Avenue. The flames quickly spread to a
house next door.
Fire officials said a man in the
first home was able to save his wife, mother and four of his children. But when
he ran back into the home to save his 4-year-old daughter, the fire was too
intense. He was overcome with smoke inhalation.
Firefighters said that the girl was
pulled from the home, but she died at a hospital late Sunday night.
The girl’s uncle, Michael
Yang, identified the victim as NtshiaLiag Yang. She had just celebrated
her fourth birthday on Jan. 31.
Katie Kane, a neighbor, said she
watched as the girl’s mother yelled for help.
“Six minutes after the flames were
out, the firemen ran out of the house with this limp little 4-year-old in their
hands,” she said. “And the mom went to the boulevard and just got down on her
knees and started praying. And prayer is universal, so I went over there and
bent down on that sidewalk and prayed with her, too.”
On Monday morning, Kane return to
the scene of the fire with her own daughter in hand to pay respects at a
memorial outside the burned house.
The girl’s uncle said the family had
lived in the house for more than 20 years. He also said the girl’s father
is still in the hospital, recovering from smoke inhalation.
Michael Yang said he told the father
that it’s God’s blessing that he was able to save so many of his family
members. He added that the family will always remember NtshiaLiag Yang as a
child who loved to run around and smile.
“The family will be closer from now
on,” he said.
Michael Yang said that one of the
children was the first to notice the fire and ran upstairs to tell the father.
He also said the family heard an explosion at some point and that, in the past,
they’ve had problems with a circuit breaker.
The other children are OK, Yang
said, and their mother was released from the hospital on Monday morning.
No one in the second house that
caught fire suffered injuries.
The St. Paul Fire Marshal said crews
have determined the fire started in a first floor bedroom, and they hope to
have the cause determined by Tuesday.
The family of the girl has set up a
memorial fund to help pay for funeral expenses and to get the family through
this difficult time. Here’s how to donate to the Chialia Memorial Benefit Fund.
