Autopsy Scheduled for Toddler Killed in Fire
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ROCK HILL, S.C. – A somber scene outside a mobile home community in Rock Hill Friday. 14-month-old Joshua Hill was killed after a fire broke out inside the trailer where he lived. You can see the black residue left behind by the flames and smoke. You can also see insulation poking through damaged walls, where either the fire tried to get out or rescuers tried to get in. Investigators took pictures, still trying to figure out what sparked the deadly blaze.
We know it started around 8:30 AM. An off-duty paramedic and a York County Sheriff’s Deputy were there in just a few minutes, but it was already too late. “The lady sheriff, they had a chair there pulled up to the window and she’s trying to see or whatever, but she just kept getting hit by smoke,” says neighbor Steven Blackwelder.
Blackwelder also tried to rescue the toddler. “I ran to the back to try to get up the steps but there was just too much smoke and fire. I never felt so helpless in my life. Knowing that child was in the bedroom,” he says. Blackwelder also says the little boy was home with his 17-year-old brother while their parents were at work. He says the teen was frantic. “We all tried to do something, like I said, it was just nothing we could do. I’ve never felt so helpless,” says Blackwelder.
Debbie Steele lives nearby, too. She’s a mother of four and says, “It grieves me to think of the heart of a mother.” Steele also grieves for the teen left to replay the fiery images in his mind and the first responders who did their best. She says, “I’m very thankful that they’re willing to do that job.”
The State Law Enforcement Division, the York County Sheriff’s Office and the Coroner’s Office are investigating.
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