Bystanders help burning woman as fire destroys Canton home

STARK COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) - A woman was seriously injured after a Canton home burst into flames Tuesday evening.

When firefighters arrived at the home in the 2300 block of Bollinger Ave. NE around 8:20 p.m., they said there was heavy fire coming from the front of the residence.

Witnesses saw the victim outside the home and immediately moved her away from danger. According to firefighters, two neighbors suffered minor injuries helping the victim.

The injured woman was transported to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital and then transferred to the Akron Children’s Hospital Burn Unit for specialized treatment. Firefighters said it took crews about 30 minutes to get the blaze under control. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Bystander describes helping victim

Jackie Dotson was picking up his wife nearby when he heard a boom and drove toward it. At the scene, he saw a 63-year-old woman on fire outside the burning home.

“Instinct jumped in. I ran over to her. I tried to put her out with my hands. Didn’t work,” Dotson said.

“I found an old pop can that had soda on it and I poured it on my shirt, got it wet enough and I laid on top of her,” Dotson said.

Dotson’s efforts helped extinguish the fire on the woman.

Dotson and another bystander who also helped were both burned in the process of taking the woman to safety.

“She was laying about 10 feet away from the house on the front porch and she was actively on fire and they had to pat the fire out on her. Then they dragged her to the street and laid her on her back until fire arrived,” Henderson said.

Henderson said the two bystanders who helped had minor burns on their hands.

“That’s extraordinary. We do it every day. It’s expected of us. But when common citizen does that, that’s above and beyond and we honor that,” Henderson said of their efforts.

Dotson said he does not see his actions as extraordinary.

“I’m glad I showed up because things would have got a lot worse if I wasn’t here in this at that time. But I’m just glad I was at the right place at the right time. Not extraordinary, not a hero, but at the right place at the right time,” Dotson said.

Dotson said he and his wife plan to rally the community to make sure the woman has a place to go when she recovers.

Dotson said he was in a serious house fire when he was a young boy, which he believes helped him react quickly Tuesday evening.

“Just like when I was 9, I really didn’t care about myself, but making sure everybody else got out,” Dotson said.

Dotson said he is communicating with the woman’s family and that she is stable.

Former residents visit scene

Leigh Ann Oberlin, who grew up in the home, visited the scene.

“It’s hard. That was my bedroom right there,” Oberlin said.

Leigh Ann and Charles Oberlin moved next door after they married and later inherited the house. They sold it a few years ago.

“That’s why we came here. We wanted to just, you know, have some final thoughts about it and move forward. Just praying for the family, praying for people that lived in there that got burned,” Charles Oberlin said.

Investigators look into cause

Multiple 911 callers reported explosions at the home. One caller said, “My God, we heard big booms.”

Henderson said oxygen tanks were found inside the home, but said those tanks have a pressure valve designed to release oxygen instead of exploding.

“Obviously that’s going to accelerate the fire. So that might have given an indication of the fire, a pop from the fire or a burst of air from the home,” Henderson said.

The Canton Fire Department is actively investigating the cause of the fire.

Fire crews are reminding anyone on oxygen to never smoke while using it, however they do not know if that was a cause of this fire.