Marion boy dies days after East Fairground Street fire
MARION - A Marion boy has died just days after firefighters pulled him from a burning home in the north side of the city last week.
Jordan Harper, 4, passed away on Saturday at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, two days after a blaze broke out at his family home on East Fairground Street.
Officials with the Marion City Fire Department confirmed this information with the Star on Monday.
Marion City firefighters found the boy —who was not breathing— in an upstairs bedroom of the home, Thursday morning, as the fire burned beneath them. He was transported to OhioHealth Marion General Hospital before being flown to Columbus.
Firefighters had arrived at the home shortly before 1 a.m. that morning after receiving reports of multiple people trapped inside.
Others who were impacted
Several adults and children were able to escape the blaze, as some of them had to drop out of the windows. Jordan Harper and his grandmother, Nancy Harper, were still trapped inside the home.
A man was also stuck on the roof of the home when first responders arrived at the scene, according to Marion fire officials.
Firefighters located the 61-year-old Nancy Harper in a second story hallway. She was transported to Marion General Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The fire was marked under control at 2:05 a.m., said Marion Fire Chief Chuck Deem. He said the primary focus was rescuing people from the home with the majority of the resources focused on taking care of the victims.
Six other family members received medical treatment as a result of the blaze with two other children being sent to Nationwide Children's. An adult was also transported to Grant Medical Center.
A 3-year-old girl was treated for smoke inhalation at Marion General and is expected to recover.
Controlling, extinguishing the fire
The majority of the fire was concentrated at the rear of the home and is believed to have started in the kitchen area, according to the incident report. The cause of the fire has not been determined yet and the Ohio State Fire Marshal is helping with the investigation.
Investigators said they believe the cause of the fire was not malicious in nature. The house was extensively damaged by the blaze and it was deemed a total loss.
Marion Fire officials noted the home did not have any working smoke detectors, adding the devices could of alerted the family sooner.
"The odds of surviving a house fire greatly increase if you have a working smoke detector in the home," Deem said. "It's possible that it could have made a difference in this particular case."
Smoke detectors were donated to the Marion City Fire Department on Friday, following the blaze, but have since all been given away.
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HKarim@nncogannett.com
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