Investigators search for cause of Humboldt fire that killed 7-year-old

HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — It was heartbreak Monday in Humboldt as a family mourns the loss of a 7-year-old boy.

Although the boy’s name has not been released, the chief says he believes he died from smoke inhalation in the Monday morning blaze.

A little after 2 a.m. Monday, a house on Etheridge Street went up in flames, killing a boy who was trapped inside.

“At the time of our first units’ arrival, it was fully involved and the mother was saying her son was still inside the structure,” Humboldt Fire Chief Chester Owens said.

According to Chief Owens, a woman lived here with her three kids. The mother and her two girls made it out, but the 7-year-old boy had to be rescued from his room in the back of the home.

“P.D. had already tried to get in to get the child out, but it was boarded up,” Chief Owens said. “So the time that we got in, we did kick the door in and we got the child out.”

The back door was boarded up just steps away from the 7-year-old’s bedroom where firemen found him. EMS rushed him to the Humboldt Emergency Room, but unfortunately he died from his injuries.

“Very sorry for the fatality of a son, because it has to be hard on any family right now,” Chief Owens said.

Chief Owens says there were no working smoke detectors in the home. State Bomb and Arson investigators and are still working to determine the cause of the fire.

The mother says the fire started in the front of the house.

“Nothing at this time,” Chief Owens said. “She did say she believed it started behind the sofa. So this is where we are initiating the cause.”

Although the mother and daughters made it out of the home, the two girls are in the hospital for smoke inhalation observation. That mother also had scrapes on her hands from trying to get inside the home.

Chief Owens said they are collecting donations for the family and that they lost everything in the fire. Donations can be dropped off at the station on Main Street or the one on the 45 Bypass.