Teens Save Toddler Brother From SC House Fire
Aug. 24—Two teens helped their 3-year-old brother escape an apartment fire on Tuesday morning, according to an Orangeburg Department of Public Safety fire report.
A 14-year-old was asleep in his second-floor bedroom when he was awakened by the smell of smoke at his family's Corona Drive apartment.
He exited his bedroom and encountered smoke. He tried to go downstairs, but it was too hot, the report said.
The 14-year-old woke up his 3-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister.
They opened a second-story window and the 16-year-old sister jumped to the ground.
The 14-year-old helped get the 3-year-old to the 16-year-old. Then the 14-year-old dropped to the ground.
The sister contacted her mother, who was visiting a neighbor, the report said.
The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety was contacted at 8:48 a.m.
The first due engine arrived within six minutes of dispatch time, according to an ODPS post on Facebook. A primary search confirmed all occupants were out of the structure.
The firefighters were able to confine the fire to the first floor of one apartment and the fire was reported under control within 14 minutes of arrival.
Orangeburg County EMS and Office of Emergency Services assisted.
The 3-year-old was not injured in the incident.
The 16-year-old sister is being treated for a back and possible ankle injury from the jump. The 14-year-old is being treated for smoke inhalation and an ankle injury from the jump. The mother is being treated for a hand injury.
ODPS determined the fire was accidental.
"The item that first ignited was cooking materials within a pot that was located on the surface of the range. Fire extended out of the cooking vessel and affected adjacent combustibles," the report said.
The damage to the apartment and belongings is estimated at a total of $13,500.
The American Red Cross is providing services for residents who were displaced.
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