Toddler dies in Spokane fire, his dog at his side

SEATTLE — A toddler who died in a house fire was found with his dog and teddy bear next to him and authorities believe the dog was trying to protect the boy, a spokesman for Spokane’s fire department said Saturday.

The dog, a terrier mixed breed, also died in the fire that broke out at about 11:30 p.m. on Friday, said spokesman Brian Schaeffer.

Three other children and two adults escaped the blaze in Spokane’s Hillyard neighbourhood, he said.

The dog stayed behind in an attempt to protect the boy, firefighters believe.

The fire was so intense that it melted the metal on the frame of the boy’s bed, Schaeffer said.

Jerry Atabelo, who lives across the street, told The Spokesman-Review he saw the flames and heard people screaming as he was getting ready for bed.

He yelled for his wife to call 911 as he ran outside to hook up his 150-foot water hose.

As people screamed that a child was still in the house, neighbours dragged the hose across the street and sprayed water through a window to try to put out the fire, Atabelo said later.

The battery in the house’s smoke detector had been removed and it wasn’t working, Schaeffer said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Police are investigating the child’s death.