THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996 TAG: 9601180404
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
After getting one of his girlfriend's three young sons out of her burning house Wednesday morning, Tony Hunter went back for the other two.
But as he was carrying a second child through the living room, Hunter collapsed and fell unconscious to the floor, fire officials said.
A stereo speaker fell over, trapping the infant, said Lt. Jeff Messinger, spokesman for the Suffolk Fire Department.
Neighbors managed to get Hunter out to the front porch by the time a fire truck pulled up in fog and heavy smoke that made visibility nearly zero, Messinger said.
Kenny Nelms and Charles Jolly jumped off the truck and rescued the other two children, one from the living room and one from a back bedroom, he said.
The children's mother, Brenda Turner, reportedly had gone to the a coin laundry before the fire broke out about 8:29 a.m. in the one-story house in the 600 block of Factory Street.
Nansemond-Suffolk Rescue Squad took five patients to Obici Hospital in Suffolk. Three - a 31-month-old boy, a 13-month-old boy and Charles Newton, 40, who was believed to be a neighbor but whose address was unavailable - were treated for smoke inhalation and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The other two - Hunter and the 3-month-old boy - were transferred to Norfolk. Hunter was listed in serious condition in the burn/trauma unit of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. He had burns of his face and respiratory tract, Messinger said.
The infant was in stable condition in Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, a hospital spokeswoman said. He suffered smoke inhalation and second degree burns of his left arm, Messinger said.
The fire heavily damaged the one-story home. The loss was estimated at $30,000.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the fire marshal. ILLUSTRATION: MICHAEL KESTNER
The Virginian-Pilot
Suffolk firefighters and police closed Factory Street just after
8:30 a.m. Wednesday when a fire erupted in the 600 block near
Kissimee Street. Fog and heavy smoke made visibility nearly zero.
KEYWORDS: FIRE INJURIES by CNB