Feb. 07--PETERSBURG -- A father who escaped his burning mobile home with other family members early Monday morning tried to go back inside to save his 2-year-old daughter, but the flames were too intense.
The girl's body was found in her bed early Monday morning in the Spring Gardens Mobile Home Park & Campground, which is in the 2100 block of County Drive (U.S. 460) in Petersburg. Family members identified the victim as LeShay Yates.
The state medical examiner's office ruled that LeShay's death was accidental and that the cause was "thermal and inhalational injuries."
Fire officials said the cause of the blaze remained under investigation.
The victim's brother, who officials said is about 7 years old, woke their parents, Cecil Yates and Wendy Petree, after the fire started, said Marlow Jones, assistant Petersburg fire marshal.
Fire officials said the parents and their son were relatively close to the front door and were able to escape through it, but that LeShay's bedroom was toward the back of the trailer.
"Once they opened that door, all they did was give a breath of fresh air to the fire," said Doug Sanford, interim assistant fire marshal. "The father made several attempts to get back in along with several neighbors. The fire was too intense."
Cecil Yates was treated at the scene for minor burns to one of his hands, officials said.
Beverlee Jones, who lives near the trailer that caught fire, said she went to bed about 11:30 p.m. but was woken up by Petree yelling outside. Jones said she could see through her window the flames flickering beyond the trailer between her home and the one that was engulfed.
"I heard the mother yelling, 'My baby, my baby's inside!' " said Jones, who hurried outside. "She kept pointing to the window, but there was so much smoke coming out, there's no way you could have gotten in there."
Jones suddenly was alarmed to see LeShay's brother run toward the burning home. Jones said she was afraid he was going to try to run inside the burning structure, but instead he went and grabbed his bicycle.
"It's so, so devastating," said Jones, who has lived in the trailer park since 2000. "I lost it. I had to come back in the house. It's going to be a long time before I can get that out of my mind."
Firefighters were summoned after midnight to the home and found heavy smoke and flames. "You could see the fire from (U.S.) 460," said Marlow Jones, the assistant fire marshal.
It took firefighters about 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
"No smoke detectors were heard by the occupants or the firefighters on scene," Sanford said.
Fire officials said the tragic scene was tough on the firefighters who responded. "I know it's hard on the guys fighting it, because we all have kids," Jones said.
Belinda Haskett, a great aunt of LeShay, described the toddler as a good and happy child whose favorite restaurant was Don Jose in Colonial Heights.
"She loved music and dancing," Haskett said, "and she loved to go eat at the Mexican restaurant."
About 200 people attended a candlelight vigil Monday night outside the gutted home.
[email protected] (804) 649-6332 Staff photographer P. Kevin Morley contributed to this story.
Copyright 2012 - Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
