5 children safe after house fire
A Memphis mother let out a deep sigh after her five children survived a house fire that burned everything in their home Monday morning.
The children, aged between three and nine were rescued by next door neighbors. The family dog did not make it out.
It started around 9:30 a.m. when a 3year-old boy found a lighter and it ignited. It scared the child, they threw it and ran, Rosalyn Crawford, the mother said.
Crawford was coming from work in Southaven when she found out the fire had started with the kids in the home. The father at the time, was not there.
Crawford’s next-door neighbors saw the fire and tried to extinguish it with a water hose until the fire department arrived at the scene.
All of the children’s clothes burned, but for Crawford, the most important thing for her and her family was that the children were rescued safely. Crawford said they have lived in the home for close to a year and the roof was recently redone.
“The main thing we were worried about was the kids. But when we found out they were okay, everything started
WALLACE THE BRAVE
feeling a little better,” Crawford said.
“They are upset that they lost their dog but a dog can be replaced. They can’t be replaced, you know,” Crawford added.
Crawford’s mother said that she hopes to start a Gofundme to replace damages.
Memphis police responded to the fire at 10:40 a.m. after a child neglect call was made. The father who left the children at the home was detained, but was later released. Crawford’s mother denies that the father was neglecting the children at the time of the house fire.