A hero toddler saved the lives of his mother and baby sister by alerting them to a house fire – but died after running back through the flames to hide in his bedroom.
Heartbroken Whitney Johnson, 26, from Kentucky, had fallen asleep on the sofa with DJ, two, and five-week-old Nyla when a heater exploded and sparked an inferno.
The smoke detector in their apartment failed and it was only when DJ woke up and shouted her name that Whitney stirred to find her living room burning.
Whitney Johnson, 26, from Kentucky, was asleep on the sofa of her home with then-newborn daughter Nyla (left) and son DJ, when a space heater exploded, causing a fire
The HR worker grabbed her son’s hand and scooped up baby Nyla before running through roaring flames to the front door in a bid to escape.
But as she turned the key in the lock she was forced to let go of DJ for a split second and the frightened toddler raced back to his bedroom to hide.
Whitney – unable to find the crying tot in the smoke and fire – was forced to make the decision to leave him behind and save Nyla, whose scalp was melting.
After handing her daughter to a neighbor she went back in but could not reach DJ and he died from smoke inhalation after climbing into his bed.
Whitney was alerted to the fire after DJ woke up to tell her, but as she tried to get out of her front door he ran to his room to hide
Despite being in shock, Whitney managed to sound the alarm in her apartment block, allowing around 30 other residents to evacuate.
Recalling the event, which happened in 2015, through tears, she said: ‘DJ is my hero. If it wasn’t for him yelling for me, we definitely would not be here.
‘When I woke up, all I remember is flames everywhere and pitch black smoke. It was like something out of the movies.
‘We all got up and headed towards the front door to get out.
‘We ran through fire and I guess that scared DJ. I remember looking back and thinking, ‘This is it, we are all going to die.’
‘I had my newborn in one arm and I tried to open the front door and had to let go of my son’s arm to do that.
‘He ran directly to his room and shut his door. He was coughing and yelling for me and I was trying to look for him but couldn’t see him through the black smoke and flames.
‘I tried to get myself to him but I couldn’t find him and I tried to open the door but at first I couldn’t.
‘I looked at my daughter and her scalp was melting and that forced me out. I was able to open the door and got everyone out of the entire building.
Whitney tried to get to DJ but had to leave the house because her daughter’s scalp was melting. She then ran back in a second time, but was unable to get to him before he died
Whitney suffered severe burns to her face, hands and arms as she struggled in vain to save DJ
‘At that point getting my son out was all that was on my mind. I tried to run back into the apartment but it was in flames.’
The blaze was initially blamed on a something being left on the stove, but further inquiries traced the source to a space heater plugged in in the living room.
An electrical fault in the device caused an arc event which triggered an explosion and started the fire at around 1.45am on November 20, 2015.
Whitney was left with burns to 29 percent of her body and Nyla, now aged two, with 19 per cent burns, and the pair both spent two months in hospital before being discharged.
They still bear the scars, with Nyla – who continues to undergo therapy – has even been branded a ‘baby Freddy Krueger’ by strangers because of hers.
Whitney, whose eldest son Braylen, eight, was not home at the time of the fire, said she wears a ‘mask of happiness’ but suffers anxiety.
The fire happened in 2015, and Whitney now uses her social media to raise awareness of fire safety and urges parents to have an escape plan in place
Nyla survived the fire but will bear the scars for the rest of her life. She is pictured here with older brother Braylen, who was not at home at the time
The mom, who is now pregnant with her fourth child, said: ‘People in public say things. Little kids will usually act scared of Nyla like she is a monster but adults are the worst.
‘She has been called a baby Freddy Krueger and strangers online have told me I should have died in the fire and that it was my fault I didn’t save my son.
‘That really bothers me because I am angry at myself for not saving DJ. I’m supposed to be his protector and I wasn’t able to be there.
‘A lot of people thought I could just go around and smash through the window to get him, but the apartment was on the second floor.
‘I cry when I read through those comments but those people have never been in my shoes. There was absolutely nothing I could have done.
‘Now I try to raise awareness about fire safety through my social media, encouraging people to have a safety plan and to teach their kids not to run to their bedrooms.’
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