HARRISBURG, Pa. - A 3-year-old girl was killed in a Monday morning house fire in Harrisburg.
It was determined that the girl died from smoke inhalation.
The fire broke out at the home on the 2300 block of Logan street just before 8 a.m. Two firefighters were injured trying to rescue the toddler.
Terrance Reese and Cory Ozehowski live next door to the home that burned. Before emergency crews arrived they tried to rescue the toddler trapped on the second floor.
"It was just a black wall. It was nothing," said Ozehowski. "I was reaching in. I was trying to feel if there was anybody right there. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, my eyes were burning, it was just too much."
A combination of heat and heavy smoke made it impossible for firefighters to get to the girl inside. Harrisburg City Fire Senior Deputy Chief Mike Souder says two firefighters were injured and taken to the hospital. He says their will to try and rescue the person stuck inside was beyond heroic.
"They just refused to stop and sooner or later the human body says you have to," said Souder. "And that's exactly what took place this morning."
People watching the fire unfold were amazed by the firefighters' fearlessness and bravery.
"I saw them go running into the fire, I couldn't believe my eyes," said Camryn Anerson, neighbor. "I was like, 'Wow so this is what firefighters do?' cause it was really, really bad and they just went right into it."
The home was destroyed and the adjoining house belonging to Reese and Ozehowski also suffered significant damage. The men are both trying to process everything that happened. They're left with questions, wondering if things could have turned out differently.
"If I would have come out the front we could have got her out," said Ozehowski. "We could have got her out, smoke or not if she was right there."
Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.