May 24--A man who managed to pull four children from a burning home Thursday was in good condition Friday morning at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.
Firefighters rescued a fifth child, 5-year-old Zion Lilly, who was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Robert Edmonds, 39, of Fayetteville, is being treated for smoke inhalation after saving the children when fire swept through their duplex apartment on Old Shaw Road, about a mile off Bragg Boulevard.
The fire was reported about 1:35 a.m., the Fayetteville Fire Department said.
The cause had not been determined as of Thursday, but investigators say it appeared to start around a stove, a Fire Department spokesman said.
Both apartments in the building were destroyed.
Latonya Deberry lived there with her six children ranging in age from 15 to 2.
Edmonds, the father of her two youngest children, was outside in his car when the oldest child alerted him that the apartment was on fire.
Edmonds said Thursday that he broke a window to get inside and found four of the children and got them out.
However, the flames and smoke prevented him from finding Zion, he said.
One of the children, Carnise Shepard, 9, was taken to the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals. She was in good condition Friday, a hospital spokesman said.
Staff writer Nancy McCleary can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3568.
Copyright 2014 - The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
