2-year-old boy dies in engulfed city home
While his brother and sister escaped, a 2-year-old boy was the victim of a fast-moving fire Thursday on Knox Avenue in Butler.
Butler Joint Fire Lieutenant Donald Crawford said he and another firefighter responded to the home off Hansen Avenue three minutes after a customer at the nearby Speedway gas station called to say they could see a fire on Knox Avenue.
The fire was dispatched as a working structure fire with a child entrapped in the home.
Crawford said upon his arrival, fire could be seen coming from the front and back of the story-and-a-half home.
A hysterical young man told Crawford his son was on the home's second floor.
“The dad just had his underwear on, and he was covered in soot,” Crawford said.
A 1-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl, who Crawford said were the victim's siblings, were out of the house and had been wrapped in blankets by neighbors when firefighters arrived, he said.
It was unclear on Friday whether the father or neighbors had helped the two children out of the house or if the older child had escaped on her own.Crawford said the father attempted to re-enter the house multiple times to retrieve the 2-year-old, but the fire and smoke were too heavy.“We started fire suppression, trying to knock the fire down,” Crawford said.At that time, the Butler Veterans Affairs Fire Department arrived.“We made our push into the building,” Crawford said. “The crew from the VA found the (2-year-old) at the top of the steps. They brought him out, but we were unable to resuscitate the child.”When Butler Ambulance Service arrived, neighbors ran the surviving children down the steep street to paramedics, Crawford said.He said the children were taken to Butler Memorial Hospital, where a waiting Stat MedEvac helicopter flew the 1-year-old to UPMC Mercy Hospital's burn center.Crawford said he was told the baby had a severe first-degree burn on his back.He said the 4-year-old suffered smoke inhalation, but did not appear to be badly injured.The children's father was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for smoke inhalation along with his daughter.Crawford said the children's mother was not at home at the time of the fire.
A family friend, Cindy Parker, who is heading up an effort to collect clothing, housewares, furniture, linens and gift cards for the family, identified the dead child as Tristan Oesterling.The other children are Jasmine Oesterling, 4, and Jax Oesterling, 1.Parker said the father is Donovan Oesterling and the mother is Deidra Anthony.She said the couple and Jasmine are staying with Oesterling's parents, who owned the home on Knox Avenue.Anthony was at work at the time of the blaze, Parker said, and has been splitting her time between visiting her son at UPMC Mercy Hospital and consoling her daughter at the child's grandparents' house in Butler.Deputy Coroner Larry Barr said on Friday an autopsy was performed Thursday night on the young victim and results, including the cause of death, are pending.Because of the extent of the damage, Crawford did not know whether the home was equipped with smoke alarms.“Top to bottom, the whole house was fully involved when we got there,” Crawford said. “It's frustrating.”
He said the county coroner's office transported the victim's body from the scene.Crawford praised the county's Critical Incident Stress Debriefing team for the shaken emergency responders who worked the scene on Thursday.“They came in on New Year's Eve and we were here for about an hour and a half doing debriefing because of what all went down,” said Crawford. “Twelve individuals utilized those services.”Crawford, a longtime firefighter who has responded to all manner of emergencies over the years, said the scene on Thursday was upsetting for every firefighter, police officer and ambulance crew member who responded.“This one messed me up,” he said Friday. “You don't want to end a year like that.”Crawford praised the county for the CISD team, who he said provided vital respite for emergency responders.“It's a great asset in the county,” he said.Crawford said no immediate cause for the fire was determined on Thursday, but a state police fire marshal was on the scene and is continuing to investigate.
Butler Township Fire District 3 also responded to the fire and Herman Volunteer Fire Department covered for Butler Bureau of Fire during the blaze, Crawford said.Those interested in helping the family, who lost everything in the fire, can donate girls' clothing size 5T, men's clothing size large or extra large, women's clothing size large and infant boys' clothing size 18 months, or gift cards, by calling Parker at 724-968-2018.Donations of furniture, linens and housewares are also being accepted.Parker operates the nonprofit Walk in Faith Outreach, which helps individuals and families affected by homelessness or disasters.“Walk through your house and whatever you touch, they're going to need,” Parker said of the items being collected for the family.A gofundme.com also has been set up by a family member.
