Washington Man Burned Severely While Saving 8-Year-Old Niece From Fire

Washington Man Risks His Life Saving His Niece From A Giant Flames

• A Washington man saved his niece, 8, from a ma s sive fire on early Thursday morning.
• The fire broke at around 4 a.m. on Thursday when Derrick Byrd ran into the house to save his nephews and niece.
• Byrd along with his nephews and niece recover in the burn unit of Harborview Medical Center.

A heroic Washington man was burned severely after he ran into the fires saving to his 8-year-old niece.

A fire broke out inside a three-story home in Aberdeen at around 4 a.m. last Thursday after which Derrick Byrd, 20, went into the house, engulfed in flames, to save his niece Mercedes and nephews Junior and Rory to safety.

Byrd, who is recovering in a hospital, told 14 News he and his sister Kayla Johnson were forced to get the children out through the window of the second floor of the house. He added,

I ran down the stairs, even though I got burnt, started catching the kids. I caught Junior, and I caught baby Rory out the window.

It was when he realized his niece, Mercedes was still inside the house. He added the girl was trapped inside a burning room and was too scared to jump. Byrd said further,

She was screaming my name, so I wasn't going to let her just sit there. I wasn't going to let my niece die.

He added,

I ran up the stairs and pushed through the fire. I could feel it burning me. I got her and took my shirt off and put it around her face, so she wouldn't breath in any smoke. I just carried her out as fast as I could.

Along with Byrd, Mercedes and Junior are in serious condition in the burn unit of Harborview Medical Center.