Boy killed in Lauderhill fire; brother escapes

Neighbor says he tried to help rescue 8-year-old found dead inside

LAUDERHILL, Fla. – A boy was killed in a fire at a Lauderhill home early Monday morning.

Lauderhill police said a 9-year-old boy escaped from the fire on Northwest 59th Way shortly after 4 a.m., but the body of his younger brother was found in a second-floor bedroom of the scorched home.

Family friends told Local 10 the older brother got out of the house and ran to a neighbor for help.

"He told me that he had his 8-year-old brother still in the house, and I ran back as far as I could with the smoke and the fire and everything, but I just couldn't go any farther in there," neighbor Jaqua Caddell told Local 10.

Caddell said the fire spread to the air-conditioning unit by the time firefighters arrived.

Firefighters found the body after extinguishing the flames.

Caddell said his "heart tugs" for the family.

"It's just tragic," he said.

The boy who survived was treated for minor injuries at Plantation General Hospital.

"I know I tried, but at the end of the day, you still feel like you failed, you know," Caddell said. "…This is going to be a tough pill to swallow. I'll never forget that."

Police said the boy's mother, Melanie Harvey, was not home at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.