Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2006 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
LANCASTER, Pa. — City firefighters rescued a mother and her two children from their burning South Plum Street home Tuesday morning. Alexis King, her 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter all were treated for smoke inhalation at Lancaster General Hospital and later released.
King and her children ran to an upstairs window and yelled for help as smoke from a kitchen fire spread through their home at 465 S. Plum St. “Firemen, we are up here,” they reportedly yelled to firefighters who arrived from the nearby fire station at 333 E. King St. Lt. Rusty Wright made his way up a ladder and handed the children and their mother to firefighter Leander Toney, who waited below.
“After we got the little girl down, she sat down on the sidewalk and said, ‘Thank you, firefighter,’” Toney said. The family members were sleeping when the 4-year-old got up and “wanted to cook something,” Battalion Chief Brian Klugh said. Something probably was left on the electric stove and started burning, fire officials said. A fire broke out at the stove and smoke spread through the first floor and up the steps to the bedrooms. There were smoke detectors in the home, but none were working, fire officials said. Once the family members and a pet dog were rescued, firefighters concentrated on fighting the fire. They extinguished it within a few minutes. The blaze did an estimated $12,000 to $15,000 damage. Most of the actual fire damage was in the kitchen, but the entire house had smoke damage or smelled of soot.