UTICA, N.Y. - When Ibrahim Abdulahi, 23, returned home from work with his mother about 4:30 p.m. Friday, panic set in.
Heavy smoke was spewing from 1416 Neilson St., where they live on the second floor along with Abdulahi's father, three brothers and one sister.
"We tried to go in, but couldn't," he said.
He went to the rear of the house and saw his little brothers and sister at a window.
"I just had to tell them to jump," said Abdulahi, who then caught them. "I wanted to help them. I wanted to save them. I wasn't worried about getting hurt."
The first-floor residents, who are Abdulahi's cousins, also escaped unharmed. He said he thought the cause of the fire was the downstairs heater.
The fire quickly spread up throughout the 2½-story house, and by 5 p.m. the attic was even engulfed in flames. Firefighters then were ordered to evacuate the building as a safety measure.
They then continued to battle the fire from the exterior of the building.
In addition to ground hoses, water also was being poured onto the house from an aerial ladder.
Lul Makoma, 29, Abdulahi's aunt, lives downstairs with her four children, ages 5 to 4 months old.
A man translated for her; Makoma and her family are from Somalia.
Makoma said she smelled natural gas Thursday night. They checked the stove but couldn't tell where the smell was coming from because nothing was on.
When she and her family saw the smoke Friday, they ran out of the home.
Deputy fire Chief George Clark said the house would be uninhabitable.
Clark said the cause of fire has yet to be determined.
He said there were no calls that he is aware of in regards to the smell of natural gas from the night before.
National Grid, the Oneida County Air Supply Van and a Utica fire marshal also were requested to the scene.
Copyright 2012 Observer-DispatchDistributed by Newsbank, Inc. All Rights Reserved
