Neighbor Alerts Mother And Child To Fire In Apartment

CRAFTON HEIGHTS (KDKA) -- A man is being called a hero after he helped rescue a mother and her son from a fire in their apartment Friday morning.

The fire started around 4 a.m. inside the kitchen of a unit at the Greenway Apartments on Woodlow Street.

Effon Wilson lives in the complex. He says he saw the flames and smoke in his neighbor's kitchen as he was leaving for work.

"I was walking to my car on the way to work and I saw the fire. I knocked on the door as hard as I could," Wilson told KDKA's Brenda Waters. "I didn't get an answer so I decided to kick in the door after I called 911, and the smoke hit me in my face. I tried to go upstairs to get her son but I couldn't cause it was just too thick," he said.

When fire crews arrived they were able to help the woman inside and her 6-year-old son out of the home.

A police officer said he boy was on the second floor and woke up by himself. He came walking out of the smoke as crews were going in.

They say the mother was groggy and harder to wake up. She told crews she might have left something cooking in the kitchen but she couldn't remember.

Police say they're investigating to determine if she was under the influence of anything.

The boy and his mother were both taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. They're both expected to be OK.

Wilson is now being hailed a hero, but he says he's just glad he was able to help.

"If it wasn't for me going to work at this time, other apartments would be on fire because I'm the only out going to work at this time," he said. " I'm just glad I was here to catch it. I'm just glad the kids are OK. That's all I care about."

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