LITTLE ROCK — Even the most heroic efforts of our uniformed officers sometimes end tragically.
It happened again the other day when Springdale firefighters arrived at an apartment just after midnight to discover that 5-year-old Brenden Poe was trapped in a burning bedroom.
The fire fighters managed to enter the house and fight through the smoke to pull him from the inferno that had engulfed the boy’s room. Yet another of those space heaters near his bed is suspected. How many of these stories about house fires and faulty space heaters have we read over the years? We hate to think.
The responders did everything according to the book. Fifteen of them were on the scene at 12:35 a.m.
-animpressive three-minute response to the call. They began immediate resuscitation. Everyone was hopeful as the ambulance carrying the child sped off. Neighbors wrapped the worried mother in a blanket as she stood outside.
But it was too late.
The boy died a short time later at a nearby medical center. And so Brenden Poe joins the roll of so many other victims lost in this country’s house fires, most of whom are preschool-age children. Sad.
Hard as it was for the firemen to lose this boy after pulling him from the flames, they should know we are all grateful for their gallant try. As always, we’re glad you’re around. And we know you did your best. We just wanted you to know that.
Editorial, Pages 14 on 02/21/2011