By Dave Forster
The Virginian-Pilot
Copyright 2007 Landmark Communications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Their friendship started with a few short words through a backyard fence.
On one side was Trevor, a shy, young boy with autism who liked his neighbor’s dog. On the other was Thomas Harris , a married man in his 50s.
The boy’s trust grew. He began bringing potato chips to share with his new friend. He picked Harris’ flowers and returned them as a gift. Harris knew Trevor liked the red ones best, so he planted more of those.
“He and I became real good friends,” Harris said. “Over a year he started to open up.”
On Friday night, Harris tried to save Trevor from his burning house in Green Run. So did firefighters. Capt. Gary Crighton from Ladder 9 broke his right foot as he carried the 10-year-old down a flight of steps in choking black smoke.
The boy was pronounced dead at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital . Officials did not release his name Saturday, saying they had yet to notify next of kin. Neighbors identified the boy by his first name.
The fire at 1071 Glen Willow Drive was reported at 10:27 p.m. Friday. The boy and his mother, identified by the fire department as Gwen Elliott , were the only ones home at the time, Battalion Chief Steve Miles said. Investigators believe the fire was accidental and began near a couch, but they haven’t ruled on a cause, Miles said.
Elliott tried to douse the flames with a pan of water and an extinguisher but couldn’t, Miles said. In the chaos, the boy ran upstairs despite his mother’s attempts to get him out of the house, Miles said.
“Children get scared, they go to their safe place, and that’s their bedroom,” he said.
The mother ran to her neighbors for help. At least three men grabbed ladders and rushed to a second-floor window, Harris said.
One neighbor tapped on a window, hoping to get the boy’s attention, Harris said. The men feared breaking the glass would feed the fire with a rush of oxygen.
They never saw the boy, Harris said.
The first emergency responder to the scene, a police officer, tried to go in the front door, but the fire was too intense, Harris said.
Firefighters arrived within five minutes of the call and found the boy immediately, Miles said. Paramedics took over as they brought him to the hospital.
“They worked the child all the way,” Miles said.
Crighton, the injured firefighter, is expected to recover from his broken foot in six to eight weeks.
“He’s doing fine,” Miles said.
On Saturday afternoon, neighbors cried as they talked about the boy. One girl who had seen the fire from her bedroom window placed a stuffed animal and flowers under a tree in front of the burned home.
She tucked a note into the stuffed animal for the boy’s mother: “God has a special place for your angel.”