Jan. 20--The family of a 14-year-old boy who was rescued from a Milwaukee house fire has removed him from life support.
Naiza Love-Roy was rescued from a home in the 2900 block of N. 37th St. by Milwaukee firefighters and paramedics on Jan. 2. The teen was found without a pulse and was not breathing when he was pulled from the blaze. He was pronounced braindead at Jan. 8 at Columbia-St. Mary's Milwaukee Burn Hospital.
According to the Milwaukee County medical examiner's report:
On the day of the fire, the teen ate breakfast with his grandmother on the lower level of their duplex before returning to his residence upstairs.
About 30 minutes later, the grandmother smelled smoke and followed it to the second floor where she saw smoke pouring from the edges of a closed door.
She heard her grandson saying, "I can't get the door open. I can't get out." The door handle had been removed.
She tried to open the door with a knife, but was unsuccessful, and the heat become too intense and she ran back downstairs.
Fire investigators reported that the blaze started under a table in the upstairs dining room. The cause remains undetermined. Smoke detectors were present in the home but were not working.
The medical examiner's office ruled the death accidental and the cause of death is pending further toxicology testing.
Copyright 2014 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
