The Sandusky Fire Department is still investigating the cause of a fire that left a 4-year-old dead, while the neighborhood is mourning from the loss.
On Meigs Street, the sounds of usual construction echo through the area, but for this neighborhood, it’s the aftermath of a tragedy.
“I got up, and I saw the ambulance, and the police were here,” said Antonio Woods.
Woods lives next door to the home that caught on fire. He says he was woken up at 3 a.m. by the news of flames that he could see from his window. Woods didn’t know he had neighbors, let alone that there was a family living next door.
“I heard a woman crying, but I didn't know it was kids in the house,” said Woods.
The Sandusky Fire Department was notified about the fire around 3:30 a.m. When they arrived, they found a mother and her three kids; the mother told them that her fourth child was still inside.
“The majority of the family, three of the children, were sleeping in the front room,” said Mario D'Amico, the Fire Chief for Sandusky Fire Department. “The mother was upstairs in her bedroom, and this 3-year-old was found upstairs under the mother's bed.”
The fire department then did every lifesaving procedure they could, but sadly, the 3-year-old did not survive.
“It was a combination of smoke inhalation and heat exposure,” said D'Amico.
The rest of the family was taken to the hospital, where they are staying overnight, to be observed for smoke inhalation. As of right now, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“We saw heavy flames coming out of the rear of the structure which would be a back porch and a kitchen area,” said D'Amico.
Woods said he knows the pain the family must be going through.
“I lost my brother eight years ago. You know, so I know how it feels to lose a family member or someone that close,” said Woods.
Though the fire is out, it’s a moment he’ll never forget.
“A piece of her puzzle is missing. So it's not it's not going to be the same,” said Woods.
