Photo: Getty Images
A two-year-old boy from Missouri died in a house fire. While Elijah Martinez's parents and his two siblings managed to escape their home, the young boy tried to hide from the flames by crawling underneath a sink in the bathroom.
The family told KSDK that Elijah inadvertently started the fire by putting his dad's keys and wallet in the microwave.
"All we can think is that when the fire started, he got scared and ran to hide, and he ran to the bathroom," cousin Cara Paymaster told the news station.
Florissant Valley Fire Protection District Chief Jason Hoevelmann said that by the time firefighters arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames. The panicked family told them Elijah was still trapped inside.
"They did find him in a bathroom vanity, which is unfortunate. It didn't slow down the search a whole lot because the house was small. Luckily, we had a lot of crews in there," Hoevelmann said.
The boy was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The rest of his family was also hospitalized and treated for minor smoke inhalation.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family cover the cost of the funeral and replace what they lost in the fire.
"They will need food, clothes, things for their other children. They will also need help with funeral expenses. No one should have to endure this kind of loss, I would like to try and lessen the burdens they are currently facing," cousin Shannon Selby wrote.