Heroic Neighbor Pulls Trapped Child From Burning Mississippi Home
Bodycam footage shows Kennard Hodge digging through wreckage with his bare hands to rescue a four-year-old boy, one of six children saved from the blaze.
A Mississippi man rescued a four-year-old boy from a burning home by digging through smoldering wreckage with his bare hands, according to dramatic police body camera footage. The fire occurred on October 7 in Edwards, Mississippi, with six children inside the residence.
By the time deputies and firefighters arrived, the home was engulfed in flames. Neighbors had already begun efforts to rescue the children. Five of the children, aged 13, nine, three, and two sets of twins, were rescued by neighbors. However, the four-year-old boy remained trapped inside.
Deputies located the boy in a bedroom by looking through a window of the still-burning house. Kennard Hodge then entered the home and, as captured on bodycam, could be seen pulling at debris to reach the child. "Got him! Got him!" Hodge exclaimed as he pulled the boy by the arm, lifted him, and passed him through the window to a deputy.
After the boy was brought outside, he was unconscious and unresponsive. Deputies immediately began CPR, and another administered oxygen. The child eventually began to breathe but remained unconscious. The footage shows the four-year-old with burns before he was placed on a stretcher and transported to a hospital. His condition was listed as very critical the following day.
Hodge told WAPT, "All I wanted to do was to get the baby out, so he could have a chance." Bystanders cheered as the child was brought to safety.
Edwards Police Chief Terrence Crump called the rescue "nothing short of a miracle." The Hinds County Sheriff's Office commended the neighbors and deputies for their courageous actions.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services is assisting in the case, and investigators are interviewing individuals connected to the incident.
