BOY, 5, KILLED IN ELLET HOME FIRE TWO BROTHERS SURVIVE

Akron Beacon Journal (OH)

IT'S ONE OF SEVEN AKRON FIRES

Author: Stephanie Warsmith and Marilyn Miller, Beacon Journal staff writers

Unable to see anything from his bedroom window, he ran to his parents' room, where he saw flames shooting out of the windows next door.

''You could feel the heat of the fire next to my parents' window,'' he said.

Sell and his parents watched as firefighters repeatedly went into the burning Ellet home searching for two children trapped inside. They saw them carry the two boys out one who survived, while the other did not.

Paramedics rushed OwenOrantes-Cruz, 5, to Akron Children's Hospital, where he died about 3:10 a.m. His brothers, John Mason Denton, 12, who was rescued by firefighters, and Alejandro Orantes-Cruz, 7, who was saved by his mother and her fiance, were also taken to Children's Hospital for treatment.

The family asked that the hospital not release information about the boys' conditions.

Sandra Orantes-Cruz, the boys' mother, wasn't injured. Ron Ricketson, her fiance, suffered burns on his feet from trying to save the three boys. He was taken to Akron City Hospital for treatment.

The fire at the 2556 Albrecht Ave. home was one of seven in locations all over Akron within 24 hours an unusually high number in such a short period of time. Fire officials do not think the incidents are related, said Lt. Ed Sturkey, a spokesman for the fire department.

''Busy days like that are pretty few and far between,'' said Sturkey, who has been with the department for nearly 29 years. ''It was coming at us fast and furious.''

Two firemen were injured in a fire at a vacant Mineola Avenue home on the west side about 4 a.m., when they fell through a first-floor entryway with a hole caused by fire. They were taken to Akron General Medical Center and treated and released.

In another fire on Thornton Street, firefighters rushed a man to Akron General because of smoke inhalation. He was treated and released.

Besides those fires, the Albrecht Avenue fire was the only other blaze with injuries.

Smoke wakes couple In that fire, Ricketson told Todd Webb, a fire investigator, that he and Orantes-Cruz fell asleep in the living room and were woken by the smell of smoke.

Ricketson told Webb that he ran upstairs, where all three boys were sleeping, and awoke Alejandro and got him outside. He then went back and carried John as far as the house's sunroom, before being overcome by smoke.

Ricketson told Webb he tried to go back in for Owen, but was unable to because the smoke was too thick.

Ricketson tried to use a garden hose outside the house to douse the fire, said neighbor Chuck Sell, Christian's father.

Search for boys When firefighters arrived, Ricketson was standing on the front lawn in his underwear, screaming: ''The babies are inside! The babies are inside!'' Heavy smoke and flames were pouring out of the house.

Firefighters went into the home and searched for the boys, coming out when they had used up their air. Witnesses said smoke was coming off the firefighters' protective gear when they emerged from the house.

''They couldn't find the kids,'' said Capt. James Case, the incident commander. ''We were expecting the worst.''

Firefighter Melvin Prince found Owen on the floor of his bedroom and rushed him out of the house, immediately handing him off to paramedics.

Orantes-Cruz, who had been sitting in a vehicle with Alejandro, jumped out and tried to go back inside the house to get John, whom she called ''Nino.'' A police officer at the scene restrained her, Case said.

Fire Lt. William Johnston found John and carried him to safety.

Owen was rescued within about four minutes of firefighters arriving, and John was out of the house within approximately six minutes, Case said.

''That's an eternity when you're a firefighter,'' he said.

One of the family's two dogs, which was upstairs, died in the fire. Another dog that was tied up out back was unharmed.

Webb determined that the cause of the fire was grease left unattended on the stove. Ricketson told him he had planned to cook chicken wings, but then dozed off.

The fire caused about $70,000 damage to the home's structure and contents.

There were no smoke alarms in the house, which Webb said could have made a difference.

''Just a few moments warning probably would have spared his life,'' he said.

Still, Webb said Ricketson, who isn't a father to any of the three boys, did the best he could once the fire was under way by trying to get everyone out of the house.

Webb said people should make sure they have working smoke alarms and have an escape plan in case of a fire.

The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office will do an autopsy today.

The family could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Chuck Sell said the family had only lived in the house next door, which they were renting, since the end of June.

''We didn't know them that well, but they seemed like a nice family,'' he said.

The doors and windows of the family's home were boarded up Sunday afternoon, and the remains of a charred sofa, refrigerator and stove were on the side of the house.

The front lawn had two pumpkins and a toppled scarecrow. Beggars' Night for Halloween was celebrated Saturday night. All three of the kids had gone trick-or-treating.

Orantes-Cruz, 32, was the subject of a series of Beacon Journal stories in 2006, when she was nearly deported to her native home of El Salvador because of a criminal conviction. The three-year sentence against her was reduced, and she was permitted to remain in the United States with her three sons.

''This is awesome,'' Orantes-Cruz said in April 2006, when she learned she wouldn't be deported. ''I was afraid to do anything but I have to start living, I know, because I have my boys. Everything is falling into place.''

Orantes-Cruz, who left El Salvador when she was 6 after being adopted by a Twinsburg couple, was convicted in 2003 of felonious assault and kidnapping after an alcohol-fueled fight with a boyfriend left him with a cut finger. A judge reduced the sentence to 360 days of probation.

Sturkey said the firefighters took Owen's death hard.

''Their hearts really go out to the family,'' he said.

Sturkey said ''for a fire of this magnitude,'' it was amazing that one of the boys survived.

''This is one of the days when you're proud to be a fireman,'' he said.

Memo:

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com