By D.J. Corcoran
At 1:56 p.m. a bilingual motorist passing by 438 Hiawassee Ave. in Knoxville, Tennessee, called 911 after she was flagged down by a hysterical female holding a baby yelling, “My house is on fire!” in Spanish.
When firefighters arrived, Mrs. Magdalena Pasqual handed her baby to the firemen, while other crew members began an interior search followed by fire suppression. All individuals from inside the house were out at that time.
An arriving ambulance took the mother, her baby, the motorist, and another baby to the University of Tennessee Hospital. The 8-month-old baby suffered second degree burns to the back of the legs and is reported to be doing fine at this time. Mrs. Pasqual was also babysitting a 13-month-old when the fire broke out.
Fire investigators have determined the fire started in a front bedroom near or around a space heater. The mother reported to fire officials (through an interpreter) that she had turned the heater on to knock the chill off and went about her business in another part of the home when she was alerted by a sounding smoke alarm. The mother carried the two infants out.
