Toddler dies, parents are injured in Munster house fire – NBC Chicago

A family is mourning after a toddler died and his parents were injured following a house fire Monday in Northwest Indiana.

The fire broke out just before 11 a.m. Monday at a home in the 900 block of Cornwallis Lane in Munster, officials said.

Authorities said a three-year-old boy died in the fire and both his parents were hospitalized with smoke inhalation.

Witnesses reported that the toddler’s father tried to save him to no avail.

“I saw him run out of the garage and he fell right in front of me in the driveway. He was covered in ash,” neighbor Robert Wojtowich told NBC Chicago. “It makes me cry. I just can’t believe he’s gone.”

Another neighbor, Kim Mullens, said the young boy, who some called “Mackie,” was a ray of sunshine in their lives.

“He was very special. He was such a cute little boy,” she said. “He called me Gammy!”

Mullens’ townhome was connected to that of the fire victims, and she too witnessed the boy’s father try to save his son.

“I got goosebumps and my hair stood on end. “I’m a little numb,” she said.

Mullens says her pets were rescued by firefighters, and although her home sustained heavy damage, she knows another family is now left devastated by grief.

“When I heard about Mackie, my problems were nothing compared to theirs. Nothing,” she said. “God, my heart goes out to them.”

The child’s identity has not yet been released and an investigation is ongoing.