Post by Box_2565 on Nov 24, 2008 12:11:28 GMT -5
Three dead, one injured in fire
By Quan Truong • qtruong@enquirer.com • November 24, 2008
LOWER PRICE HILL -- Three children died in a house fire that gutted their home Monday morning. One of the children died after she panicked and would not jump from a second-floor porch.
The two-alarm fire destroyed the two-story home in the 1700 block of State Avenue.
The children, all under the age of 10, died at the scene, Cincinnati firefighters said. The father of the children was hospitalized with burns.
The grandmother of the children identified them as Julia Hulett, 9, a student at nearby Oyler School; Jasmine Hulett, 5; and Robert Hulett Jr., 2.
She said the children's father, Robert Hulett, was in critical condition at University Hospital with burns over more than 30 percent of his body. She said her daughter, April Hulett, was not injured.
"She (April) doesn't know what to do,'' said the grandmother, Doris Murray. "She just lost her kids, her house. She lost everything.''
Murray said her daughter and son-in-law had told her about problems with an electrical socket in their bedroom. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Even before arriving, firefighters knew they were going into a grave situation, said Cincinnati Fire Capt. Mike Washington.
Several 911 calls came flooding into the police department just before 2:30 a.m., reporting a heavy fire with people trapped inside. At least one came from a resident in the home.
Two fire crews, which were stationed just several blocks from the home, arrived within about two minutes of the phone calls, Washington said. Still, the fire was in full force when firefighters arrived. Heavy fire billowed from the first and second floor.
April Hulett had escaped and was waiting for firefighters when they arrived. Robert Hulett had jumped off of a second floor porch.
One of the children was on the second floor porch and didn’t jump, Washington said.
“She was alive when we pulled up but the porch that she was on had heavy fire,” he said. “She became part of the fire.”
A neighbor, Tabatha Adkins, said she saw 9-year-old Julia on the porch, waving her arms in the fire and crying for help. Adkins said Julia's father tried to get her to jump but she would not and went back inside the house. The other children were found inside the house.
"The whole house was on fire,'' said Adkins, one of several people who called 911. "It just went up in flames in about a minute. I could hear the screaming inside the house.''
Adkins said Robert Hulett pushed his wife off the porch to safety. He said he tried desperately to get Julia to jump.
Murray, who stood outside the burned home this morning with two of the Huletts' four dogs, said she often took care of the children.
"I babysat them everyday while my daughter was at work,'' she said. "I couldn't believe it. They were such good kids.''
A neighbor, Charles Gosney, said Robert Hulett worked hard as a collector and hauler of scrap metal.
"He loved his kids,'' said Gosney. "He would do anything in the world for them. Whatever they needed, he got for them.''
Gosney said he is certain Hulett did what he could to save the children.
"I'm sure he tried to go back in the house for them. He would give his life to get them out of the house,'' Gosney said.
Fire investigators and homicide officials were still on the scene through the morning.
"The building is banged up pretty bad," Washington said.
The intensity of the fire and the amount of damage will make it harder to determine the cause, Washington said.
The two-bedroom home, which was built in 1866 was gutted. Only the bare bones of the structure are still standing. The inside is completely exposed.
“We fought hard,” Washington said. “It was an intense fire and it was a valiant effort on the firefighters’ part.”
Counseling will be available to the 52 firefighters called to the scene.
“We’re a family. It’s incumbent upon these guys to watch out for one another to make sure there are no adverse reactions to the stress they dealt with today,” Washington said. “We’re professionals and we deal with tragedy differently than other people and it’s part of the job.”
Shaun Kaeff, who lives down the street, said the tragedy scarred everyone on the street.
"Everyone is upset. We're not related but it's like all of the kids are our kids.''
There are photos and video at the link for this news story: State Street Fire.
Steves comment: Such a sad and tragic event. Bless the little ones and their parents.
By Quan Truong • qtruong@enquirer.com • November 24, 2008
LOWER PRICE HILL -- Three children died in a house fire that gutted their home Monday morning. One of the children died after she panicked and would not jump from a second-floor porch.
The two-alarm fire destroyed the two-story home in the 1700 block of State Avenue.
The children, all under the age of 10, died at the scene, Cincinnati firefighters said. The father of the children was hospitalized with burns.
The grandmother of the children identified them as Julia Hulett, 9, a student at nearby Oyler School; Jasmine Hulett, 5; and Robert Hulett Jr., 2.
She said the children's father, Robert Hulett, was in critical condition at University Hospital with burns over more than 30 percent of his body. She said her daughter, April Hulett, was not injured.
"She (April) doesn't know what to do,'' said the grandmother, Doris Murray. "She just lost her kids, her house. She lost everything.''
Murray said her daughter and son-in-law had told her about problems with an electrical socket in their bedroom. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Even before arriving, firefighters knew they were going into a grave situation, said Cincinnati Fire Capt. Mike Washington.
Several 911 calls came flooding into the police department just before 2:30 a.m., reporting a heavy fire with people trapped inside. At least one came from a resident in the home.
Two fire crews, which were stationed just several blocks from the home, arrived within about two minutes of the phone calls, Washington said. Still, the fire was in full force when firefighters arrived. Heavy fire billowed from the first and second floor.
April Hulett had escaped and was waiting for firefighters when they arrived. Robert Hulett had jumped off of a second floor porch.
One of the children was on the second floor porch and didn’t jump, Washington said.
“She was alive when we pulled up but the porch that she was on had heavy fire,” he said. “She became part of the fire.”
A neighbor, Tabatha Adkins, said she saw 9-year-old Julia on the porch, waving her arms in the fire and crying for help. Adkins said Julia's father tried to get her to jump but she would not and went back inside the house. The other children were found inside the house.
"The whole house was on fire,'' said Adkins, one of several people who called 911. "It just went up in flames in about a minute. I could hear the screaming inside the house.''
Adkins said Robert Hulett pushed his wife off the porch to safety. He said he tried desperately to get Julia to jump.
Murray, who stood outside the burned home this morning with two of the Huletts' four dogs, said she often took care of the children.
"I babysat them everyday while my daughter was at work,'' she said. "I couldn't believe it. They were such good kids.''
A neighbor, Charles Gosney, said Robert Hulett worked hard as a collector and hauler of scrap metal.
"He loved his kids,'' said Gosney. "He would do anything in the world for them. Whatever they needed, he got for them.''
Gosney said he is certain Hulett did what he could to save the children.
"I'm sure he tried to go back in the house for them. He would give his life to get them out of the house,'' Gosney said.
Fire investigators and homicide officials were still on the scene through the morning.
"The building is banged up pretty bad," Washington said.
The intensity of the fire and the amount of damage will make it harder to determine the cause, Washington said.
The two-bedroom home, which was built in 1866 was gutted. Only the bare bones of the structure are still standing. The inside is completely exposed.
“We fought hard,” Washington said. “It was an intense fire and it was a valiant effort on the firefighters’ part.”
Counseling will be available to the 52 firefighters called to the scene.
“We’re a family. It’s incumbent upon these guys to watch out for one another to make sure there are no adverse reactions to the stress they dealt with today,” Washington said. “We’re professionals and we deal with tragedy differently than other people and it’s part of the job.”
Shaun Kaeff, who lives down the street, said the tragedy scarred everyone on the street.
"Everyone is upset. We're not related but it's like all of the kids are our kids.''
There are photos and video at the link for this news story: State Street Fire.
Steves comment: Such a sad and tragic event. Bless the little ones and their parents.