Rescued toddler dies after following dad back into burning home

A Pennsylvania toddler had been rescued from a house fire by his father but ran back into the home when his dad ran inside to rescue the rest of the family. The toddler later died in that fire...

A Pennsylvania toddler had been rescued from a house fire by his father but ran back into the home when his dad ran inside to rescue the rest of the family. The toddler later died in that fire.

The fire started when a candle lit by the family during a power outage was knocked over and caught fire to the couch. Terry Thomas carried his son Layden outside but then “put him on the porch, and went back in for the mother, an infant and a 5-year-old,” according to Lt. Mark Johnson.

The rest of the family made it out of the fire alive, but Layden was later discovered under the bed and is believed to have died of smoke inhalation.

“I was outside with my newborn baby and my oldest daughter, and she was running across to the neighbor’s house, and Layden was right by my feet, and I’m trying to call the police while I take care of them, and I just glanced away for a second and he ran back in the house,” said Layden’s mother, Brittany Smith.

“It’s unimaginable … I did my best, I got him to safety,” Thomas told KDKA. “I’ve seen things happen, but I never thought it’d hit this close to home.”

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