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Family Loses Home, While Bystanders Snap Pics
posted (March 20, 2019)

Last night we showed you the late breaking news about the fire in the Bootsville area of the city. It has left a mother and her two kids homeless, and their neighbor’s house scorched.  And while that is a tragedy for this small family - the real tragedy is the state of social media sickness where bystanders preferred to capture the fire on their cell phones, rather than do something to put out the fire.  Here’s more:…

This was the gripping scene yesterday in Bootsville as Melanie Adolphus’s home burned.  The Port Loyola resident was outside talking to her sister when she saw that her house was on fire.

Melanie Adolphus - Fire Victim
"Now, as soon as I get outside with her talking, like a good ten minutes, maybe not even ten minutes, I see smoke coming out the window, in the hall area and my kitchen area. But the smoke was coming darker from the hall. So, I ran up the steps and I see the fire from the top of my bathroom door and my room door. I see fire rolling out so I run for water. I am screaming out for help. I was running up and down, me, my sister and my neighbor right here- Fiona- three women were running up and down, screaming help, trying to back buckets of water, trying to get the hose. I couldn't believe that people were on their phone videoing live while I was screaming out for help. This thing started early. I don't know, I am not God to say I could have out it, or it could have out or whatever. I am not predicting. But I said, if I had the little support, I could have saved something. I had to stand up there, run away from the fire, leave it, drop everything and watch everything flame.â€￾

She watched her house burn as the fire truck fought through crosstown traffic at rush hour:

Melanie Adolphus
"After five how will a big fire truck reach from way over there in ten minutes time? Come on. It's just as if I wasn't home, what would anyone have to say? People, we need to stop put down one another and try start help. Stop picking up your phone to hurry put things live and start help. Because if the amount of phone that was up could have run with a bucket, something could have happened.â€￾

Her sister Kimberly Seguro knows the pain of this loss all too well:

Kimberly Seguro- Fire Victim's Sister
"It is unfortunate to see that my sister's going through this knowing that it is only three months ago that I went through the same thing; me and my other sister, because it was both of us. Our house also burnt down in December."

Now, Melanie has to start over from nothing because that is exactly what she has left.

Melanie Adolphus
"We lost everything miss. We were trying to get buckets of water not grab anything out of the house; three women."

If you want to help Adolphus you can call her neighbor Fiona at 634-1031. 

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