Hero girl, 11, died trying to save eight-month-old baby brother from fire as flames ripped through New Jersey home
AN 11-year-old girl died trying to save her baby brother from a fire as flames ripped through their home in New Jersey.
The blaze broke out on the first floor of the house in Jersey City just after 11.30pm on Wednesday.
When emergency responders arrived, they found a mom and her six-year-old son outside, who said two children were still in the house.
Authorities said the six-year-old woke his mom up and she managed to get him outside.
But the door locked behind her and she wasn’t able to get back in.
Firefighters battled through heavy smoke and found the body of an 11-year-old girl and an eight-month-old boy on the second floor, ABC7 reports.
They believed the little girl, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was desperately trying to save her baby brother, who was later pronounced dead in hospital.
The boy was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 12.24am.
The fire was reported under control at 12:07 a.m.
Neighbor Lawrence Anderson told Eyewitness News: “I don’t want to even imagine. Those are the age of children I teach. Any child in harm’s way, it hurts me.”
Another neighbour, Brandy Williams, added: “We got banging on the door, people were screaming telling us, ‘Help! Get out!’
“I’m just shocked. I’ve sent prayers out, hopefully for the cops that are injured. We thank y’all for trying to help us.”
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Three police officers were treated for smoke inhalation.
Several attached homes were damaged by the smoke and their residents were given shelter.
The Hudson County Regional Arson Task Force is working to determine what caused the fire, but no foul play is suspected.