Child playing with lighter caused fatal fire
The Associated Press
Published 6:10 a.m. ET May 11, 2018
Grand Rapids, MI –
Authorities say a child playing with a lighter in a closet started a house fire that killed a 2-year-old girl earlier this month in western Michigan.
Grand Rapids Fire Department Lt. William Smith confirmed the cause on Thursday. The Grand Rapids Press reports 2-year-old Jazelle Thomas-Whitfield died after being trapped May 3 in the room where the fire started. Flames prevented anyone from getting her out.
Smith says the child who started the fire was a sibling, but didn’t release the child’s age.
The house that burned had two apartments in it. Several other people inside the house at the time of the fire were able to escape.
WOOD-TV reports a state watchdog agency is opening an investigation to see if Children’s Protective Services could have helped protect the girl.
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Flowers and balloons were placed on the front porch of the home in the 200 block of Dale Street NE Friday.
They’re a makeshift memorial for 2-year-old Jazelle Thomas-Whitfield, who was killed in a house fire Thursday night.
“I heard the fire trucks coming, and when I ran to the corner I seen nothing but black smoke going up in the air,” said Angela Feldman, who lives just down the block. “I instantly found the mother and dropped on the ground and started praying with her, because that's all we could do.”
Feldman said the entire neighborhood is feeling the impact of the tragedy.
“I have no idea who they are, never met them a day in my life,” she said. “But, neighborhood's family.”
So far, investigators haven’t found anything to indicate the fire was intentional. A Michigan State Police K-9 was brought in to make sure there were no signs of foul play, but found no evidence of accelerant.
It may take several days to determine the exact cause of the fire due to extensive damage.
“The more destruction there is, it's that much harder to find a cause,” said acting Grand Rapids Deputy Chief Todd VanderWall.
Arriving fire crews knew the 2-year-old was in a first-floor back bedroom, but neighbors and firefighters who tried to rescue her were driven back by the flames.
The home is broken up into two apartments. The family living upstairs was not home Thursday night. But the family of six, two adults and four children including the little girl who died, were home.
“We had indications initially that there were working smoke detectors in the home,” VanderWall said.
The smoke detectors should have given them time to escape. However, firefighters could see a column of smoke rising from the home as they traveled to the scene from the city’s south side, giving them the indication the fire had spread well before they received a 911 call.
“It seems to us, because we were on the scene within 3 1/2 minutes of when we were first notified, that we were notified later than maybe we should have been,” said VanderWall.
Delayed calls are a problem firefighters encounter on a regular basis.
“A free-burning fire will double in size every minute, so that exemplifies why it's so important to leave the structure immediately,” said VanderWall.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family cover funeral costs and provide for the other children.
For those interested in learning more about fire safety, the Grand Rapids Fire Department offers several options, including a free home safety inspection program that has put over 50,000 smoke detectors at homes around the city.
They also offer tips on how to avoid having a fire, and how to get out if you do experience a fire.