Raleigh, N.C. — A grandmother and granddaughter died in an overnight fire at their home in northeast Raleigh.
Firefighters responded to the home on Grinding Stone Drive in the Walden Woods condominiums, close to East Millbrook Road and Atlantic Avenue, before 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Officials said that a mother was found on the back deck of the apartment and had jumped off the 3-story complex with her baby in her hands. Her efforts saved her child, according to officials. Firefighters also searched the home and rescued her 9-year-old son, who was trapped inside.
The mother’s young daughter, however, did not survive the fire, officials said. Her grandmother, who lived with the family, escaped from the apartment but went back inside to try and save her granddaughter.
The other three family members were taken to WakeMed in stable condition with injuries including burns and smoke inhalation.
“I came out, and it was like big flames,” said a witness who lives nearby. “I didn’t know exactly where it was coming from, so when we ran up, we saw [the flames], huge, and they were telling everybody, ‘Back up, back up.’ The next thing I know they have the water. Then I saw the son come out, I saw the mom.”
Melissa Hinkel lives behind the family and said she couldn’t sleep after seeing the fire.
“I was just shaking for a good two hours last night,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep at all.”
Hinkel described the moment the fire started.
“I saw a lady come out onto her deck, I could see the light of her phone,” she said. “And then I could see a little bit of sparks … and I’m kind of just watching that and then all of a sudden the whole fire just went up the side of the house. That’s when she got down and was trying to get off the top deck and she fell to the second deck and she was holding a baby at the time.”
The cause of the fire, which started in the kitchen, is under investigation. Brandon McGhee, assistant fire marshal for the city of Raleigh, said that there was no sprinkler system in the building and that fire alarms did not appear to be working.
“It cannot be emphasized enough that properly functioning and positioned smoke alarms are essential in all settings and they save lives,” he said.
Fire officials told WRAL News that this is still an active investigation. According to the city’s fire code, smoke detectors should have been present in the apartment.
WRAL News asked if the building owner will be charged and officials said they could not comment because the fire was still under investigation.