2 children die in Detroit fire; mom, 3 kids leap to safety

Associated Press
Friday, Dec. 25, 2020 4:14 p.m. | Friday, Dec. 25, 2020 4:14 p.m.

An early morning fire on Helen Street on Detroit’s east side left two children dead on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. Two other children along with their mother, who was holding another child, jumped from a second-story window to escape the fire that gutted the home.

A Christmas morning fire killed a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old at a home on Detroit’s east side and forced others to jump from a second-floor window to escape, fire department officials said.

The Detroit Fire Department said the two children were found dead in a front living room of the two-story house. Three children and their mother were injured leaping from the upper-level window.

“It’s definitely a Christmas tragedy,” said David Fornell, a deputy fire commissioner. “Just horrible.”

The three injured children were aged 3, 8 and 10, and the mother was holding the 3-year-old in her arms when she jumped, officials said. The 8-year-old girl and the 10-year-old boy suffered third-degree burns. Fornell said the mother and the 3-year-old were not seriously injured. They were all taken to a hospital.

Fornell said he believes the woman is the mother of all five children.

A cause of the fire was not immediately known. An official described it as an “extensive fire throughout the house.”