Boy Dies After House Fire In Southfield, Sister In Critical Condition
SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) - Authorities say a 9-year-old boy who was critically injured when his home went up in flames has died.
The fire broke out around 6 a.m. Tuesday at a home on Marshall Street, in a neighborhood near 12 Mile and Greenfield roads in Southfield.
"On arrival we found smoke coming from the structure, no car in the driveway," Fire Battalion Chief Barry White told WWJ's Ron Dewey. "Our crews made entry and started attacking the fire and within two to three minutes on the scene, we found two victims huddled together on the floor of a bedroom."
Firefighters rescued the special-needs child and his adult sister from the burning home and rushed both to Beaumont Hospital, where the boy -- identified as Nathaniel Mosby -- was later pronounced dead.
The sister, said to be in her 20s, was last reported in critical condition. She was initially reported to be the boy's mother.
Neighbor Rustina Bancroft was shaken after seeing first responders carry the victims out of the house and perform CPR.
"He rides up and down the block all the time and waves across the street, and we've had him over at the house before, singing and dancing, just goofing around," she said of the young victim. "He's as sweet as sweet can be. I'm just asking everybody for prayers."
According to reports, the home did not have any working smoke detectors.
The fire appears to have started in the rear of the house, although a cause remains under investigation.