As fire ravaged her Red Bird-area apartment early Sunday, Kimberly Butler struggled through smoke and flames to save her four young children.
She got Joshua Picot, 7, and Jamerie Picot, 2, out safely and told them to wait while she went back in for the other two, Joshay Picot, 7, and Jeremiah Butler, 4.
But it wasn’t until she got the other two out that she realized Jamerie had followed her back inside.
“I went back inside to save her, but it was too late,” said Ms. Butler, who moved to Dallas from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Firefighters found Jamerie dead in the master bathroom, hiding from the fire.
Her death was an accident, caused by smoke inhalation and thermal burns, according to the Dallas County medical examiner.
Dallas Fire-Rescue officials said the cause of the fire at the Cedar Ridge apartments near Interstate 20 and Highway 67 is still under investigation. About a dozen other residents were displaced.
Ms. Butler said she believes one of her children may have set the couch on fire trying to light a candle while she was in the bathroom.
About 1 a.m., one of her children pounded on the bathroom door of the apartment, in the 3900 block of Gannon Lane, to tell her the couch was in flames, she said.
Outside minutes later, after Ms. Butler realized her daughter was back inside the engulfed building, she turned to neighbors for help, some of them said Sunday.
Neighbor Sandra Jones said she was at a club down the street when her mother called to tell her what was going on.
“Police were frantic and all the neighbors were trying to get to the baby, but they couldn’t find her,” Ms. Jones said. “The smoke was too thick, and the heat was too intense.”
WestCoast911 -Â Source Dallasnews.com / Read Entire Article
BOSTON, March 25, 2008—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today released the following statement upon the completion of the investigation into the Aug. 29, 2007, deaths of Firefighter Paul J. Cahill and Firefighter Warren J. Payne in West Roxbury:
“On Aug. 29, 2007, Boston Firefighters Warren J. Payne and Paul J. Cahill were killed while fighting a fire at the Tai Ho Mandarin and Cantonese Restaurant in West Roxbury. As with all unnatural or unattended deaths within the City of Boston, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with homicide detectives from the Boston Police Department, began an investigation into these deaths to determine whether any crime was committed. After a complete and thorough review of all of the evidence, I have determined that there is no basis for criminal charges to issue.
“In addition, I have authorized the release of the contents of our entire investigative file, including autopsy and toxicology results, to Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick J. Fraser, Jr. and the Boston Fire Department’s Board of Inquiry should they
wish to review it in the course of their own investigation.
“As in every death investigation, our legal obligation in this case was specifically to determine whether any crime was committed: that is, whether any action by any individual or individuals rose to the level of wanton and reckless conduct, causing the deaths of these two firefighters. The question of the presence of alcohol and/or other intoxicating substances was considered along with all other evidence and in no way changes our determination that there are no criminal charges to attach to the deaths of these firefighters.
“Firefighters Warren Payne and Paul Cahill went into a dangerous fire – an inherently deadly environment – fully aware of the risks. They gave their lives in the line of duty to protect the lives and property of strangers. Nothing in our investigation has produced any evidence that diminishes the magnitude of their sacrifice or the heroism of their actions.â€
WestCoast911.com – Press release information taken from the IAFF websiteÂ