HOUSTON — A mother and her infant son died in a fire in north Houston early Saturday morning, but that mother's last act of courage saved her two other children's lives.
The fire started around 4 a.m. at a home on Heaney Drive, which is near Tidwell Road. A 31-year-old mother died in the fire, alongside her 1-year-old son.
"I just can’t believe it,” the victim’s sister said. “I think that I don’t see that they get out. Like it’s not gonna be real.”
The victim's sister didn't want to show her face as the news was slowly being relayed to other family members, but said the phone call she got was one she didn’t expect.
“She tried her best to get out,” she said.
Fire officials said the mother got two older children out of the house, but went back inside for the one-year-old.
"My sister was a hero because she took them out and nothing happened to them,” the victim’s sister said.
It’s devastating for the family, but the shock was felt all around. Neighbors woke up to the screams of those children asking for help.
"I heard banging on the door and kids crying for help,” said neighbor Savannah Hernandez. “They are little kids, and you just never know what could happen. They were barefooted.”
Fire crews arrived in minutes but the flames were too strong to go inside.
“This is tragic,” HFD Chief Samuel Peña said. “And again, the recommendation once you’re outside, stay outside. How do you tell that to a mother whose child is inside the home?”
Officials believe the fire started somewhere in a wall and quickly engulfed the home, creating smoke and flames too thick to bear.
“This is a tragedy of enormous proportions," Peña said.
The family set up a GoFundMe account to help with funeral expenses.