Kansas City, Kan., fire officials say a mother's love gave a woman the courage to charge into a flame-filled apartment early Saturday to try to rescue her three young sons.
The woman ran into her burning home at least twice and saved two of her children. But she could not reach her middle son, age 3, who died inside the home at 351 N. 31st St.
She suffered "extremely critical" injuries, said Deputy Fire Chief Craig Duke. Her surviving sons, 18 months and 8, were not injured.
Fire officials did not release the names of the victims, pending notification of relatives.
"Obviously, it's a mother's love," Duke said. "She just ran right through those flames in her regular clothes. We wear protective gear. It's hard to believe."
Firefighters were called to the house, which had been converted into three apartments, at 5:38 a.m. Saturday.
The woman, her three children and the boys' father lived in the front apartment, which was the unit most heavily damaged by fire. The father was driving to Nebraska for a job when the fire broke out, Duke said.
Two other families lived in units in the back of the house. In all, 14 people lived in the three apartments, Duke said.
When firefighters arrived two minutes after they received the 911 call, they saw heavy smoke and fire erupting from the front apartment. The residents of the back units had escaped. Firefighters found the mother, suffering from extreme burns, lying across the street from her home. She was rushed to the burn center at University of Kansas Hospital.
Because of her injuries, firefighters could not interview her about what caused the fire or how she was able to rescue two of her sons.
Firefighters found the 3-year-old boy's body in a living area in the front of the home, Duke said.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
