Man rescues toddler from apartment fire

A man is being credited for saving a 2-year-old boy’s life after a fire erupted Friday night in a northeast Spokane apartment.

“It’s like a Christmas miracle that this baby survived,” said Spokane Fire Department Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer.

Kyle Embree and the toddler are reportedly doing well after being treated and released from Deaconess Medical Center.

Firefighters are still unsure of what caused the blaze.

About 10:30 p.m. Friday, Embree and three other adults were at home in the apartment at 2309 E. Euclid Ave. when they smelled smoke.

They checked the candles and the kitchen, then saw smoke pouring from the upstairs, where the toddler was sleeping, Schaeffer said.

The boy’s uncle, 33-year-old Jessiah Baker, and Embree tried three times to get up the stairs but were knocked back by smoke, said LeKiesha Grant, who also was in the apartment.

“It was nuts how it all just happened,” Grant said. “And it happened so fast. The smoke detectors (upstairs) didn’t go off.”

On the fourth try up the stairs, Embree made it into the boy’s room and reached out, Schaeffer said. Embree was able to grab the toddler and rescue him.

The 2-year-old inhaled some smoke, but he wasn’t burned, Grant said. “That’s amazing, since he was up there the longest,” she added.

The boy and his mother were displaced by the fire, officials said. They are being assisted by Red Cross.

Grant described the experience as “really, really, really scary. I was just so glad that everyone was OK,” she said.