Fire injures grandma, girl; 2 boys, dog escape

The cause of the fire is still being investigated, a firefighter says

By PATRICIA MEADE

VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The rag Jose Figueroa held over his mouth and nose wasn’t enough to block the thick black smoke that rushed at him.

“I was in my garage when I heard screams and saw the house on fire,” Figueroa said, pointing to his next-door invalid neighbor’s burned-out dwelling. “I ran into the living room but couldn’t breathe, and I felt the fire.”

Firefighters sent to 2486 McCartney Road at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday rescued his neighbors, 54-year-old Marleen Felder and her granddaughter, Daresha Brown, 12, from their bedrooms.

Felder, who Figueroa said uses a wheelchair, was in serious condition at Akron Children’s Hospital Burn Unit. Daresha was in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Health Center.

When firefighters arrived, two boys in the front yard said their grandmother and sister were still inside. Reports identify the boys as Derrick Brown, 11, and Kaleen Gordon, 5. Both were treated in Akron.

Fire Capt. Alvin Ware said the victims all suffered smoke inhalation. He said the cause of the fire, which started in the boys’ bedroom, is under investigation. The presence of smoke detectors wasn’t immediately determined, he said.

Dog, boys got out first

Figueroa said when he started in the front door, the family dog, a large yellow lab-mix, ran out, followed by the 11-year-old boy. Next out was the 5-year-old boy.

Figueroa said his wife, Ury, tended to the scared boys. Their 9-year-old daughter goes to Mary Haddow School with Kaleen.

“We hugged them, told them it would be OK,” Figueroa said of the boys. “The grandmother, she uses a wheelchair. I knew she couldn’t get out; that’s why I went in.”

Figueroa said the boys told him their mother was working when the fire started. “The fire, it was so fast,” his wife said.

The yellow dog lay by the front door Wednesday afternoon in the hot sun, looking lonesome and unwilling to leave his post. He growled and made a few half-hearted barks when a stranger approached his charred, boarded-up home.

“He wants to get back in,” Figueroa said, adding another neighbor set out food and water in the backyard for the animal.

Damage to the five-room house and contents was listed at $13,000.