Neighbor raised the alarm, tried to help in west Modesto fire that killed toddler
The roughly 18-month-old boy found dead in a west Modesto house fire Saturday afternoon reportedly was playing in the room where the fire appears to have started, said a neighbor who saw smoke and raced to help.
The home of Salvador Rodriguez and his family is on the same South Martin Luther King Drive property as the one that burned, sitting behind it by just a few feet. Rodriguez was on his front patio, using his phone, when he saw smoke coming from the right rear of the home, he said Sunday morning in Spanish, with his daughter Maria translating.
While yelling that there was fire, he ran to the front of the house, where he tried to open an exterior door to the room. Finding it locked, he tried to kick it in but could not, he said. He then ran to the front door of the home, where a woman answered.
She tried to reach her son — the toddler’s father — but there was a problem. “My dad was telling (her), ‘Oh, fire’s coming out,’ but the lady, she’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t know, they’re locked up,’” Maria Rodriguez said.
He dashed back outside to see the fire had become much worse. He turned on a garden hose to try to knock down flames. In the meantime, another of his family members had called 911.
A couple of neighbors from across MLK Drive had by this point come to try to help, including breaking a window into the room, Rodriguez said. The parents of the toddler were screaming that the child was in the burning room.
It was about 3:17 p.m. that Modesto and Ceres fire department crews were dispatched to the report of a structure fire on the 400 block of South MLK, near Pine Street. When the first engine arrived, it was met with a large crowd outside of the house and reports that there still could be someone inside, said Modesto Fire Department Division Chief Michael Lillie.
Crews entered the structure to search for people and fight the flames coming from the north and back sides of the home. Lillie said firefighters found the toddler deceased inside the house.
Six other people were treated for various injuries from the fire, from smoke inhalation to first-degree burns. Rodriguez said three of them were occupants of the home: the toddler’s parents and grandmother. The father suffered a burn to his back, Rodriguez said. The other three included Rodriguez and two neighbors who came to help.
Of the six treated, three were taken to a hospital and three refused further care at the scene, firefighters reported. Rodriguez was among the latter, saying he took in a bit of smoke but needed no medical attention.
Maria Rodriguez said her family learned from the residents of the home that the toddler, his parents and grandmother were visitors who had just arrived from Mexico and were to spend just a night or two at the home. The residents themselves were not home at the time of the fire but returned some time later, she said.
The child apparently was alone in the room where the fire started, Maria Rodriguez said. At least one of the parents was showering at the time her father saw smoke, she learned.
The dispatch to the fire included six engine companies, one truck company and three chief officers from the Modesto, Ceres and Stanislaus Consolidated fire departments. Lillie said the fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes.
Three fire investigators were called to the scene, and another was sent to the hospital to talk with the other victims of the blaze. Lillie said Saturday that there was no clear cause of the fire at the time, and the investigation is ongoing.
