City worker's quick thinking saved family from building fire
By John Joyce
Published in News on July 17, 2015 1:46 PM
City inspector Kelly Best said she was just doing her job Thursday when she pulled a 7-year-old child away from a burning building.
No one was injured in the blaze, but the fire has been ruled suspicious.
The fire started in the back yard of a Beech Street home Ms. Best had set out that morning to inspect. Instead, she found herself leading a small child and his family to safety.
"I got that little boy that was running around. He was running around in the back yard, and I got him away from the fire," Ms. Best said.
Goldsboro Fire Department Engines 1, 2 and 4, and Ladder 1 were dispatched to 1713 Beech St. at about 10:36 a.m.
Ms. Best, a minimum housing inspector, said she was driving by the residence and saw heavy smoke coming from the back yard.
She stopped, saw the fire and called 911.
When firefighters arrived on scene, thick black smoke was billowing up over the back of the house.
By that time, Ms. Best had taken the child around to the front of the house. She asked him where his mama was, she said.
He told her his family was inside the home.
Ms. Best went to work again. She beat on the door and got no response.
"I'm up there and I'm beating on the door to get everybody out of there," she said.
After several attempts by Ms. Best, the homeowner, Laura Siscoe, came to the door. Mrs. Siscoe collected her five other children and got them all across the street.
"I was just doing my job," Ms. Best said.
According to the fire report, a 10-by-10 outbuilding in the back yard caught fire by unknown means. The building, a total loss, contained a bed, a computer, children's toys and other items. Only a few studs remained standing after the blaze. A children's play set was also damaged.
Once the fire was out, fire crews began to investigate potential causes.
"There was no electricity to the building," Assistant Fire Chief Eric Lancaster said.
"All the (potential) accidental causes we looked at, we didn't find any," he said.
Lancaster requested assistance from the Goldsboro Police Department. A patrol officer came out and took a report. Lancaster later met with Ms. Best and took her information. Both the patrol officer and Lancaster's reports have been turned over to the Police Department's investigations division.
Mrs. Siscoe said she does not believe her son, who she said suffers from a developmental delay, started the fire. She did however become emotional when expressing her gratitude to Ms. Best for her efforts that morning.
"My little boy could have been injured if she had not come along," she said.
The investigation is ongoing.