7-year-old boy dies in Iowa fire; mother suffers second-degree burns trying to save him, officials say

Tyler J. Davis
The Des Moines Register

An evening house fire killed a 7-year-old Iowa boy Friday and injured his mother, who was burned while trying to save him.

The child, David C. Fogle, died because of the blaze at 515 High Ave. East in Oskaloosa, according to the city's fire department. Angelia D. Wells, his mother, suffered second-degree burns to her arm, neck and ears as she attempted to rescue her son from the home's basement.

Wells helped two other children, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old, escape the fire without injury.

The fire department in Oskaloosa, which is about 60 miles southeast of Des Moines, received the call of a fire about 8:30 p.m. Friday. A child was reported to be in the building's basement.

Fire officials arrived to the scene four minutes later and were told Oskaloosa police officers and Mahaska County sheriff's deputies were not able to get into the house because of the intense heat and smoke, the release states.

"Search and rescue (operations) were done right away and it was shortly after arrival, I would say five minutes, they were able to knock that fire down and found the child," said David Christenson, a captain with the fire department.

"Your adrenaline's really pumping at that time and you're ready to go in and hard-charge. We all have children and grandchildren."

Fogle was found in the basement after the flames were quelled. The boy was taken to Mahaska Heath Partnership, but died of his injuries. Wells was treated and released.

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The structure used to be a single-family home but has been converted into an apartment building. However, the house was vacant besides the mother and three children, Christenson said.

Firefighters were on scene for three hours, according to department officials. New Sharon's fire department was requested, too. In total, 24 firefighters were on the scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Mahaska County E911, Mahaska County Emergency Management, Office of the Iowa State Fire Marshal and Mahaska Health Partnership EMS assisted as well.

Follow the Register on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Tyler Davis can be contacted at 515-284-8378, tjdavis@dmreg.com or on Twitter @TDavisDMR.