7-month-old boy killed in Detroit house fire on East State Fair Street; fire called accidental

Several children at Detroit house at time of fire; cause may have been space heater

DETROITAn 7-month-old boy was killed Tuesday afternoon when a house burned on East State Fair Street near Fairport Street in Detroit.

Four other children were in the house at the time of the fire, including the victim's 2-year-old brother. There was at least one adult in the house at the time and a teenager.

Investigators believe the likely cause of the fire was a space heater. They are calling the fire accidental.

Firefighters found the boy's body in an upstairs bedroom. Everyone else who escaped the house is OK. It is not clear how the children escaped the fire.

Fire investigators say all of the children are under the age of 3. They were left upstairs in a bedroom, alone, for about an hour.

Local 4 spoke with a woman who was among several people who tried to help pull most of the kids out of the burning house.

"It took about 15 minutes for someone to let us know that it's another baby in the house," she said. "We had enough time to save that baby, but no one told use in time enough ... 'cause there was enough of us to save that baby."

Detroit police and fire officials are investigating.

No one should have been living at the home. Power was cut off back in April. There was an illegal electrical hook up.

Family identifies boy as 7-and-1/2-month-old Coby Johnson

Family members say the victim is Coby Johnson. He was 7 and 1/2 months old. Family members also say his mother dropped him off at the house on Monday. She had left him with a man she used to date whom she considers the child's father even though he is not his biological father.

"He was a good baby. He was seven months. He laughed all the time, tried to walk crawl, fast. He loved everybody," said Coby's aunt, Destiny Gross.

-- Coby Johnson


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