Relative says burned girl ‘critical’

Amid the chaos and smoke, the 3-year-old girl and her aunt became separated.

Spokane firefighters found young Taiylor Dawley on the living room floor of the burning second-story apartment on East Nora Avenue early Sunday.

The youngster suffered second- and third-degree burns to 35 percent of her body, the girl’s great-grandfather, Gary Dawley, said Monday. She’s burned on her back, chest, arms, neck and face, he said, and is being treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

“Her heart, blood pressure and kidneys are all working normal at this time,” Dawley said. But she wasn’t breathing when the firefighters found her, and “there’s a fear that she was without oxygen too long. She’s very, very critical.”

The aunt, 47-year-old Carol Kidd, suffered burns to her face, neck and arms and also is being treated at Harborview.

Family members from the Spokane area have traveled to Seattle to be with them.

Taiylor had gone to the apartment at 307 E. Nora Ave. on Saturday to spend the night with her aunt and two cousins, a common outing for the little girl, Dawley said. Spokane firefighters were called to the home at 1:12 a.m. Sunday.

Kidd told Dawley she heard Taiylor screaming and grabbed her hand. All of a sudden Taiylor wasn’t there, she told Dawley. Kidd got the two boys out and was going back in to find the girl when firefighters arrived.

The blaze was brought under control within 30 minutes, said Spokane fire Battalion Chief Joel Fielder.

Details of what happened during the fire are still sketchy, because Kidd has been recovering, Dawley said.

Firefighters are still trying to determine what caused the fire, but Dawley said investigators have indicated they’re looking at the possibility that bedding fell onto a baseboard heater.

“This is really a tragic thing for us,” Dawley said.

The youngster turned 3 in November. Her great-grandfather spoke about the girl’s already-strong personality.

“She colors between the lines,” Dawley said. “If she has a baseball, and she says she’s going to throw it, you had better be ready to catch the ball.

“She knows her colors, animals and numbers,” Dawley said.

And she has a passion for animals. “We go to Evergreen Pet (Shop), and we play with the turtles.”

Taiylor’s parents, Melanie Dawley, a production worker at Goodwill, and Daniel Diaz, a cook for The Chalet Restaurant, along with several other relatives are at Harborview with the girl.

“She’s surrounded by family,” Dawley said.