RAYMORE, Mo. — A 4-month-old baby boy and his babysitter both suffered severe burns following a house fire Tuesday night.
Fire investigators say a warm and breezy night contributed to the quick spread of the fire at the home in the 200 block of Sky Vue Drive in Raymore.
Babysitter Michelle Sellars told investigators that she was watching the 4-month-old boy last night at her home for a friend. The boy was sleeping in a bassinet in a room with a lit candle.
Fire investigators tell FOX 4 News they suspect the wind may have knocked over that candle, or a lamp in the room, and that’s what started the fire.
When Sellars realized what had happened, her best friend says she took heroic action to save the baby.
“She was in the kitchen doing something and the baby started crying,” said Sarah Burks. “She went in and the baby had blankets on fire around him. She reached down grabbed him, got the rest of the kids, got out and came over to my house.”
Sellars managed to get her own two kids and another child she was babysitting out of the burning home. Those other kids are all between 2- and 4-years-old. None of them was hurt. But Burks tells FOX 4 News that Sellars suffered third degree burns to her hands and arms.
She’s being treated at the burn unit of the University Of Kansas Hospital. The infant and his mother were on their way Wednesday to Shriner’s Hospital in Cincinnati for specialized burn care.
Fire investigators tell FOX 4 News they did not find a working smoke alarm in the home.
Some witnesses say they thought they heard a smoke detector. This fire moved so fast and burned so hot that the fire chief says a smoke alarm could have made a big difference in preventing injuries.
A fund has been set up to help the woman whose home was destroyed in the blaze. Click here for more information.
