BLACKSTONE, Va. -- A house fire claimed the life of a two-year-old boy in Blackstone, Virginia on Father's Day. The Virginia State Police are now investigating the cause of the house fire reported at about Noon on Sunday near Luke and Hardy streets.
“The father came out of the door and he was like, 'Call 9-1-1, my house is on fire.'" neighbor AJ Jackson said. “He was like, 'there was still one in the house,' so everybody tried to get in the house to grab the kid.”
As the town's volunteer fire department mobilized to respond, neighbors jumped into action.
"When it comes to a kid, anybody will do anything to try and help," Jackson said. “I took the ladder and knocked the window frame down and it was like, something was blocking it, so I took the ladder and pushed it over, and then laid it flat, so that somebody could try to climb in but it was too much smoke, we couldn’t get in there.”
Blackstone Firefighters arrived within six minutes of the call, according to the chief, but it was too late to save the child.
Officials have not released the child's name.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
