Family only had 1 way out of fire

Goose Creek couple describe balcony leap

Goose Creek couple describe balcony leap

Goose Creek — When Thomas Davis opened the front door of his second-floor condo and saw flames Thursday night, he knew the only way out was to jump off the balcony.

Davis and his fiancee scooped up their two sleeping boys, ages 5 and 6, who are both deaf, and headed to the balcony. His fiancee jumped first.

With the kids now screaming, Davis lowered them as far as he could and dropped them down to her. His 19-year-old stepdaughter, who is pregnant and due in February, then jumped. Davis followed.

Still shaking from the experience, Davis related the terror of the evening. The only thing he could think of as it unfolded, he said, was getting his family out alive.

Brad Nettles
The Post and Courier

Goose Creek Rural Fire Department personnel were still on the scene Friday after a fire Thursday night damaged several condos at the Green Lakes Condominiums in Goose Creek.

"I thought about my kids. I know how fast fires spread. That was first on my mind," said Davis, 36, who works as a forklift driver. "I just thank God."

The 9:30 p.m. fire destroyed Davis' home and another at the Green Lakes Condominiums off Harbor Lake Drive in Goose Creek. Two other units suffered extensive water damage as a result of efforts to contain the blaze.

Mike Haines, chief of the Goose Creek Rural Fire Department that led the effort to put out the fire, said Friday that the cause of the fire was undetermined, but foul play was not expected to be the cause.

Haines said it is fortunate that the fire, which he described as being "in high gear," could be contained before it engulfed more homes in the complex.

Meredith Jarvis, public support associate for the American Red Cross, said her agency is housing the four displaced families in a local hotel and has given them debit cards with emergency funds. For Davis' two boys, the Red Cross has provided them with new hearing aids and prescription medicines.

Tiffany Robinson, Davis' fiancee, said she caught the two boys, Mekhai McDaniel, 6, and Kaleb McDaniel, 5, when Davis dropped them. Robinson said Isis Broughton, the pregnant 19-year-old, sprained an ankle and slipped a disc in her back during the jump.

Robinson said the family is relieved that Broughton's baby is fine. She said she expected Broughton to be released from the hospital Friday.

"We didn't have time to grab coats, shoes or anything. Everything we had was in there," said Robinson, 27, who works at a day care. "We are alive though. The other stuff doesn't matter. We all got out safe."

A fire crew returned around noon Friday to spray more water on the building. Neighbors periodically stopped by to inspect the charred remains of the homes.

Shelly Jo Wright, head of the property owners association, said she came down Thursday night in her bathrobe when word of the blaze reached her.

Wright, who survived a 2002 house fire that left her out of her home for 15 months, said she understands the struggle that the families involved are enduring.

She also praised the neighbors for lending a helping hand, knocking on doors and helping people get out. "We didn't just have rubberneckers out here," Wright said. "We had people helping out."

Jon Verdi, another neighbor, said the fire crews quickly got the blaze under control. "I thank God no one got hurt," he said. "It was lucky."

Reach James Scott at 745-5855 or at jscott@postandcourier.com.