Teen dies trying to save cats from fire
Sun Jan 7, 6:45 AM ET
CAMBRIDGE, Ill. - A teenager is being hailed as a hero for saving his aunt from a fire at their house, but he lost his own life when he went back into the burning building to search for the family's two cats, authorities say.
Seth A. DeShane, 14, was pronounced dead late Thursday at the family home, which was destroyed in the fire.
"He really saved his aunt," said the Rev. Kris Dietzen, pastor at Cambridge Lutheran Church. "He woke his aunt up and told her the Christmas tree was on fire.
"He got her out of the house. She thought he (Seth) was behind her, but he went back inside."
Dietzen said that when Seth's aunt realized the boy had gone back inside, she tried to get back in herself, but by then the smoke was so thick and the fire so intense, she had to leave the house.
"She ran to a neighbor's farm, and they proceeded to call 911," Dietzen said.
The fire is being blamed on malfunctioning lights on the Christmas tree on the first floor, Chief Edward Bole of the Cambridge Fire Department said. The front half of the two-story home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.