Dad grieves from afar for little boy who died in fire

Derrick Hall got the call at 4:40 a.m. that his 10-year-old son was dead. Now living in Chicago, Hall said a day later he was still trying to absorb it.

“I am so heartbroken,” he said Tuesday. “I don’t understand how this could happen.”

Timothy Derrick Hall died on Sunday afternoon after being trapped in a fast-moving house fire at his home in Empire. Neighbors on South Abbie Street tried to save him, attacking the fire with garden hoses and trying to get through the door.

“He was crying, ‘Mommy! Help me!’ We couldn’t get through,” Tammy Miller said Monday. “It just moved too fast.”

The Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District got the fire call at 4:16 p.m. Sunday. Firefighters said the fire started when untended grease cooking on the stove caught fire.

Hall said when Timothy’s mother called early Monday, she told him she was having a house party when the fire broke out.

“I asked her, ‘How did (Timothy’s half-brother, 16) Tyler, you and everybody else get out and nobody thought to get Timmy?’ ” Hall said. “All she could tell me is, ‘I’m sorry he’s gone.’ ”

Firefighters found the boy in the hallway leading from his bedroom to the front door. He was taken to the hospital, but succumbed to his injuries. Two other people were treated for minor injuries received while trying to rescue the child before firefighters arrived. There was no update on the investigation available Tuesday morning.

The apartment complex, a block south of the Empire library, is a string of single-story units with a wide drive running in front and a narrow strip of dirt behind. A chain-link back fence separates them from an adjacent dirt lot where a large pit bull mix barked at passers-by Monday.

Timothy was a fourth-grader at Capistrano Elementary, Empire Union School District Superintendent David Garcia said Monday. The district brought in counselors to be on hand for classmates and Capistrano staff Tuesday.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Timothy's family during this very difficult time,” Garcia said.

Hall described his only son as “a joyful kid” who loved pro wrestling, especially WWE SmackDown star John Cena. “He loves his video games,” he said, adding that his son liked to dress up, posing in sunglasses and cap.

“I call him my G.Q.,” Hall said. “He has a beautiful smile.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Dad grieves from afar for little boy who died in fire."