Man Escapes N.C. Fire Through Bathroom Window

A dramatic Christmas morning for Demetrius Suggs and his son left him looking for a way to escape his house. A fire ripped through his home on 413 Fleming St. and his only escape was the bathroom window.

When he and his son got home from the party it was late and he was tired, Suggs said.

"My son went to bed and I went into the bathroom and the power went out,” Suggs said. "It got hot and smoky really fast, but I didn’t see any flames.”

Suggs knew the house was on fire and called for his son to wake up.

"I yelled for him to get out of the house and then I grabbed for the doorknob and it was hot,” Suggs said.

With the door so hot he knew the only way to exit the burning house was the window, he said.

At that time the house was filled with smoke.

Suggs said he was standing on the tub and toilet balancing himself and looking out of the window when he saw his son come out the bedroom window.

The house is old and Suggs said the windows are painted shut and can’t be opened.

"I had to rip that apart and plus the double-paned windows and the storm window,” Suggs said. "Once I saw my son walking around outside, I put my fist through the window.” Suggs’ arms are lacerated from the glass cutting his arms.

Eighteen firefighters from Wilson Fire/Rescue Services extinguished the 4:33 a.m. fire.

Wilson County Emergency Medical Services began helping Suggs with his injuries and took him to the hospital. Suggs also has burns on his hands, he said.

Suggs came back to his home later Christmas Day to see if he could save anything from the charred remains.

"My home is destroyed,” Suggs said crying. "No (renters) insurance.”

Suggs picked up a certificate he had earned that is half burned. "It is all gone - look at my kitchen. My vacuum cleaner totally melted. We had to pry the refrigerator open. All of the food I had in here - cooked.”

Family members came to the house to support Suggs and his son. One relative who came to be with Suggs reminded him that his life has been spared even though his possessions were gone.

"The things may be replaced, but you can’t be replaced,” Mosie Speight said. "We have life for Christmas. We will get through this.”

Suggs said he believes a short in his stove caused the fire.

Wilson fire investigators ruled the fire to be from unattended cooking.

The American Red Cross is assisting the family for a few days with a place to stay. Firefighters said their home is uninhabitable from the damage.

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©2014 The Wilson Daily Times (Wilson, N.C.)

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