Toddler killed in Shaler fire pulled away from her mother to find cat
A mother held fast to her newborn daughter on her shoulder as smoke filled their Shaler home Friday while grabbing for her toddler nearby, telling her they had to flee.
But the toddler, 2-year-old Danika DeRamo, slipped away from her mother’s grip, crying that she had to save their cat from the flames that were quickly engulfing the house. The mother, Courtney Frederick, ran out of the burning house, month-old daughter Anastasia still in her arms.
Danika’s grandmother, Michelle M. DeRamo, then ran back into the burning house to try to save Danika. She suffered third-degree burns in the effort, but couldn’t reach her.
Details of the failed rescue were provided Monday by family friend Sonya Thomas and Ms. Frederick’s father, James Frederick, and stepmother Samantha Frederick.
Township police Chief Sean Frank said firefighters found Danika on the first floor of a two-story home in the 700 block of Fall Run Road. She was rushed to UPMC Mercy Hospital, where she later died.
Fire investigators were focusing on the basement of the home as the likely place the fire started, Chief Frank said over the weekend.
Ms. DeRamo is being treated in the burn unit of UPMC Mercy Hospital, Uptown.
Two others in the home were taken to the hospital by ambulance, and two others went to the hospital by private vehicle, Chief Frank said.
Four firefighters were hurt, none with life-threatening injuries, and taken to the hospital.
The nature of the injuries was not disclosed.
The fire was reported about 9:40 p.m., and first responders arrived to see flames shooting out of the house on Fall Run Road, a steep, narrow thoroughfare with a handful of homes connecting Middle Road and Route 8 in Shaler.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family, with a goal of raising $15,000. By Monday afternoon, $12,020 had been raised. A clothing and household goods drive was being organized for the family, who lost everything in the fire, Ms. Thomas said.
“Dave and Danika are the best things in my life,” Courtney Lynn Frederick wrote on her Facebook page.