GASTONIA, N.C.,None — A Gastonia father threw his children out of a window of a burning home to save them, firefighters said.
Barbara Reyman, 72, died, and six other family members were injured in the fire, which started just before 9 p.m. Thursday at a home on Millon Street, near West Franklin Boulevard
Bernard Reyman Jr., 32, had just returned home from the grocery store, and his wife, Alicia Ledford, 24, was helping him carry things inside. He heard a strange humming noise, firefighters said, and discovered the fire. Reyman initially tried to put the flames out with water but quickly realized he couldn't extinguish it, firefighters said.
He then rushed upstairs to his children's room and, as the fire grew and the smoke thickened, he dropped at least two of his three children out of a window, according to firefighters.
Reyman then lowered himself down and went the backside of the house, firefighters said, to try to reach Barbara Reyman and Bernard Reyman Sr., 75.
Neighbor Debra Floyd and her husband rushed outside when they saw the flames and heard screams.
"We saw a young lady screaming, ‘The house is on fire! The house is on fire!'" Floyd said. "(The flames) looked like a big monster coming out."
Firefighters and paramedics had arrived at that point, and paramedics took over the grandparents' care.
"It's your job to make sure things like this don't occur, so when something like this happens, it's very upsetting," Fire Marshal Greg Floyd said.
Bernard Reyman Sr., 4-year-old Quentin Reyman and 6-year-old Brianna Reyman were flown to a burn center in Chapel Hill.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.