Demetrius Johnson, 24, died this week and you should know about who he was and how he died. Johnson rescued his his fiance Tempest Thomas and his 8-year-old daughter when a raging fire broke out in their two-family home in Buffalo. He then went back into the fire to rescue his 3 year old son. The boy was found near his father’s body after they both perished in the fire.
Eight-year-old Treasure Brighon and 3-year-old, Demetrius Johnson were treated for injuries. Thomas and 1-year-old Demaris Johnson were not injured.
Johnson was the first to detect the fire and woke his family. Tempest told him not to go back into the fire but he reportedly went in anyway to try to rescue his son.
There is not much published about the cause of the fire or about Johnson. However, his actions at that moment was a remarkable example of the love and sacrifice of a parent for his family.
My prayers for his family and friends. This good man is w/ God.
Wow. From Prairie Rose’s link:
“Family members told the paper this wasn’t the first time Demetrius entered a burning home in a daring rescue. William Johnson said that several months ago his brother had entered a burning home to save an elderly woman.
“That house was on fire, and Demetrius went in looking for her. He searched the whole inside of the house, but then he found out she was out having lunch somewhere,” William Johnson told the newspaper.”
It also noted that he put his little boy into a closet before collapsing. He must have known he couldn’t make it out, that he was going down, and spent that last effort to give his son a chance. If the father died out there, then clearly his son would have, too. He saved his life. What a hero.
Prairie Rose – thank God the kids survived, but the poor girl! Burns are absolutely agonizing, and that level can be life threatening. I hope her lungs were not scorched. Typical debridement is very, very bad.
They have renewed an old school way for wound debridement using maggots. One kind of maggot consumes only necrotic flesh, and one consumes healthy, so you have to use the correct one. I can’t recall if it’s scruffily or blowfly. But the necrotic eating maggots will very gently clean away the dead flesh without scraping or pulling away healthy with it, it’s far less painful, and it leaves less scarring because it does not take healthy tissue with it. That’s if you can get over the ick factor of all that movement under the bandage.
Prayers for the family and the injured, especially the girl. My heart goes out to what she must be going through.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136394/
Did the 3 year old survive, or perish with his Dad? The article said he died, but later said he was treated for his injuries. I hope very much that he survived.
God bless this man, a hero. When his family was in danger, he sacrificed himself to save them, as a true parent should. This is how a real man acts. It’s not about the swagger, money, fame, or popularity. It’s about real courage and character.
My heart and prayers go out for his family, who must be absolutely crushed at this time. Although nothing can fill the hole he’s left in their lives, his kids will always know their Dad loved them more than his own life.
http://www.people.com/article/demetrius-johnson-father-dies-rescuing-fiancee-three-children-from-apartment-fire
The father died, all three children survived, but the 8-year-old daughter has severe burns over 90% of her body.
A hero dies but once.
This was not a decision he made, he would have had to choose not to.
Few are cut of this cloth.
Balls to the walls, Demetrius Johnson.
That’s a Dad! I hope his other children grow up to be just like him. They could honor him most by telling everyone they come across the kind of Dad he was.
Paul,
I too could not follow who was saved treated or died other than the father.
THIS is how a man dies.
This is how a MAN…lives!
—Robert A. Heinlein
All my best wishes for the widow.
@Paul C. Schulte.
Unfortunately, from this article, the boy died in his father’s arms.
Renegade – Well said.
I am confused. Did the 3 year old survive the fire or die with his father? Either way, his father is a brave man. Kudos.
If he hadn’t tried, he couldn’t live with himself…ask any caring father. Just speaking about him, and not casting anything elsewhere. I hope the community comes together in support of the family and recognition of the young father who could not abandon his kids before or during the fire.
The young man is a role model in so many ways for other male contributors to the gene pool, no matter the race.
Such a vast difference between this hero and that guy who takes pictures of himself surrounded by money whilst filing bankruptcy. I don’t recall the other guys name but this man’s name I remember.
•Rest in peace Demetrius Johnson•
God Bless Demetrius Johnson.