The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
4-year-old boy dies in house fire
A boy’s body was found in a house destroyed by a fire July 7 on 2nd Street in Elyria.
Lorain County Coroner Dr. Stephen Evans confirmed the body was found in an upstairs bedroom. However, investigators are having difficulty removing it from the damaged building.
The body will be taken to the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy, Evans said.
People at the scene identified the boy as 4-year-old Omir West.
A family member said the boy was found on his bed, and officials claim they don’t believe he felt anything. Likely, he died of smoke inhalation, she said.
The house on the 400 block of 2nd Street in Elyria is owned by William and Elaine Davila, according to records at the Lorain County Auditor’s office.
Other family members were able to escape the blaze.
Fire personnel were called to the home at 3:02 p.m. and found heavy fire conditions, according to Elyria Fire assistant chief Joseph Pronesti.
“We did what’s called a blitz attack,” he said. “We had to knock down the heavy fire before we could send our men in. They went in and did a search of the first floor. Conditions again deteriorated rapidly and we had to pull them out again.”
According to Pronesti, the home’s construction may have contributed to the blaze.
“These old structures, fire races right through them.” he said. “It’s called balloon framing. Fire gets in the pockets and it runs. We had a lot going against us, but the guys did a hell of a job.”
Pronesti said fire crews are likely to be at the home until at least dusk and that the home will have to be taken down.
“Oh, it’s coming down,” he said. “We’re going to have to tactfully take it piece by piece apart.”
He said the greatest challenge in fighting the fire was keeping his firefighters safe.
“Everyone here has families, a lot of these firemen have kids, whenever there’s kids involved you go all out.”
The cause of the blaze is unknown so far.