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She Jumped Through Flames To Save Her Son, Days Later, They're Both Dead
posted (April 30, 2024)
There are 7 traumatic deaths to report after the long weekend - 4 dead in fatal accidents, two dead from fire injuries, and 1 murdered.

We starts with the tragedy of an 18 year old mother and her toddler son….they are lying in the morgue after succumbed to the burns they sustained in a house fire.

On Friday you heard from the homeowner, Michael Gill, who said that he was at work out of the city when he got a call that his house was on fire. He'd been renting two of the rooms, and 18-year-old Malika August was one of his tenants. August and her child were injured, but Gill didn't know the severity of those injuries. Once she was at the hospital, August fell into a coma. Hours after the fire, her son died, and two days later, she passed away as well.

But what caused the fire that took two young lives? Courtney Menzies found out. Here is that story.

When 18-year-old Malika August realized her home was on fire, she grabbed her 2-year-old son, Zaylon August, and raced through the door. Unfortunately, since the home only had one exit, she was forced to run through the flames to save herself and her child.

They received extensive burns and were rushed to the hospital. But Baby Zaylon passed away that same evening, and August died on Sunday night.

August's cousin said she was sure that she would have survived, even if the little boy didn't.

Voice of: Keana Kelly, Cousin of Deceased
"I was at home Friday and the babysitter texted me and told me that she got burnt up in the fire, she and her baby. But I didn't know it was a house fire. She just said, your cousin and her baby got burnt."

"I broke down and I bawled, I couldn't believe that she- I thought that she would have pulled through because maybe the baby couldn't handle it cause he's a baby and I thought she would pull through and we were praying but she's gone."

And according to reports, the fire started because the stove was left on. However, Kelly says she doesn't quite believe it.

Voice of: Keana Kelly, Cousin of Deceased
"They said that it was caused by something left on the stove but when I met the owner of the house, he told me that he found noodles, like she put noodles on the stove and then she went to sleep and I'm just going by what people are saying because I wasn't there, I don't know the house, nothing. So they said it was caused by that but I don't believe that."

But while the family is leaning towards arson, the Station Supervisor at the National Fire Service says differently.

Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor, NFS
"We haven't collectively retrieved any evidence supporting such claim. we cannot support the cause as yet that someone threw an external or added flammable liquid to contribute to that rapid blaze. It's frustrating when you are faced with these situations, it's a he said she said type of game. Two lives have been lost, as a community, as a grieving family, especially those who have suffered loss this type of way, this is point where we want to hold somebody responsible so to speak."

"The structure was built in such a way where it had one door which served as its main entrance and exit. We learned that it is alleged that the stove was left on and for some unknown reason, the mother, she went to take a nap and the wind caught a whiff of that open flames, using the curtain as an ignition source. So you're looking at an open flame, and sitting right next to that open flame was a butane tank. It was just a disaster waiting to happen."

And that disaster now leaves the August family to cope with two deaths, and Kelly explained that her cousin was more like her sister.

Voice of: Keana Kelly, Cousin of Deceased
"Me and Malika were close, she was my ride or die, we were everywhere, and she told me everything, I told her everything. We fall out, we talk back, we cuss each other, we fight, that's just us, but I loved her."

"She was fun, she liked to catch feelings, you can't tell her anything because everything you tell her, she catch feelings, but she will laugh back with you. She was happy, she was a happy person."

"He was a happy baby, I used to tell her, watch him with his tie-tongue, because he was happy and jovial."

"This rough, this hit home, it's really hard, it's hard, because two deaths, man."

Mortis added that in such a situation, a person should grab some sort of blanket to wrap themselves in, because running through the fire with no outer protection is essentially like cooking your organs.

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