Neighbor helps rescue child from burning home

The child was in good condition this morning at Akron Children's Hospital.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
PULASKI, Pa. -- Damion DeRobbio was in a deep sleep when his neighbor started pounding on his window around 3 a.m. today.
"She was screaming, 'My house is on fire and my baby is inside,'" said DeRobbio.
DeRobbio jumped out of bed, called 911 and then headed to the one-story house a few hundred yards away on Thompson Lane, just off of Pa. Route 551 in Pulaski Township, Lawrence County.
His neighbor, Michelle DeVite, got out of her burning home with her son, Frank, who neighbors say is about 15 months old. But her daughter, McKenzie, who neighbors and police say is about 5 or 6, was still sleeping in her bedroom.
By the time DeRobbio made it to the house, Chad Adams, a Pulaski Township police officer who had just gotten off duty, arrived. Adams grabbed a shovel, and DeRobbio picked up a lawn chair to smash open the child's window, DeRobbio said.
"The officer tried to get in the window, but couldn't because of his belt. I just rolled in. I couldn't see anything, so I felt around," DeRobbio said.
Smoke filled the room, but DeRobbio said he felt a small foot and then grabbed the girl's leg. He picked her up and handed her to Adams outside.
Recovery
"At first she wasn't breathing. I don't think she ever woke up from when the fire started. Then she started coughing and waking up with a smile on her face like from a dream state," DeRobbio said.
Pulaski Police Chief James Morris said his officer did cardiopulmonary resuscitation to help her breath.
By that time firefighters and police from other departments arrived.
Morris said New Wilmington Police Officer Charles Uber drove the child and her mother to Route 551 and Marr Road, where they met an ambulance.
They were taken to Tod Children's Hospital in Youngstown and eventually to Akron Children's Hospital burn unit, where she was in good condition this morning.
Morris said the child didn't appear to have any burns on her body or clothing, but they wanted to check her lungs.
Adams and DeRobbio had some cuts and scrapes that were treated at the scene by paramedics.
Pennsylvania State Police fire marshals were still sifting through the ashes of the home at 8 this morning. No cause had been determined.
Pulaski Fire Chief Bob Taylor said the fire apparently started in the living room. The child's room was directly behind it. The mother was sleeping in a basement bedroom and the other child was sleeping in a second bedroom at the top of the basement stairwell, he said.
Taylor said DeVite's husband, Frank, was at work when the fire broke out. No damage estimate was available this morning.
cioffi@vindy.com