DAYTON — A grandmother risked her life to rescue a child from a local house fire Wednesday evening.
The fire was first reported around 7:30 p.m. on Colley Place. 911 calls obtained by News Center 7 reveal the moment dispatchers learned a child was still in the house as the fire was burning.
>> Man dead, woman in critical condition after shooting in Dayton
“The baby’s inside, the baby’s inside, the baby’s inside the house,” a neighbor who called 911 told dispatchers.
The caller said that’s when the grandmother, who neighbors told News Center 7 is in her 60s or 70s, went back inside.
“The grandma is entering the house, but there’s a lot of smoke coming out,” the caller said.
While inside, the grandmother did find the child.
“Does she have the baby?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes, she has the baby,” the caller responded as the grandmother and child exited the home.
At the same time, another child from the home ran across the street to Laura Saunder’s house for help.
“He says, ‘Can I come in? Our house is on fire.’ And I said, ‘OK, you can come in,’' Saunders recalled.
>> ‘I can’t talk’ Woman calls 911 saying she was shot in face; man found dead, Dayton Police say
Not long after that, she saw the grandmother and child come out of the house.
The Dayton Fire Department says two people were hurt and one person did go to the hospital.
Saunders described what the neighborhood was like when she saw the flames.
“This whole area was filling up with smoke really bad,” she said.
She thought the worst for the five people who live there and if it wasn’t for the grandmother, she doesn’t know what could have happened.
“It could have been a lot worse,” she said.
Fire officials said the fire was an accident and caused around $50,000 worth of damages.
© 2023 Cox Media Group




