RICHLAND COUNTY, SC (WIS) – When an apartment complex in Irmo caught fire, a mother made an instant decision to throw her two babies out of a third-floor window before jumping out herself.
Shawnteal Boyd is one of 35 people who lost their homes in the fire that investigators say was started by a child playing with fireworks.
In a telephone interview from his hospital bed, Boyd said he was napping with his one-month and one-year-old children when they heard the fire alarm go off. She said she didn’t realize how terrible the situation was until she saw someone outside shouting at her to leave her apartment.
“I didn’t know it was so serious … He knew that if I didn’t leave quickly, we wouldn’t be burned. He was thrilled and didn’t even know me, ”she said.
After the gravity of the situation hit her, she started to act.
“I went through the front door and saw all the fire and smoke. I knew we had to get out of there. I just didn’t know how we were going to get out of there because I definitely didn’t want to go out the window because I have a one-year-old and a month-old son with me, so I definitely don’t want to do that, ”recalled Boyd. “But I had no choice at the time, I had no choice,” she said.
Boyd said as she felt the flames start to rise from the floor below her, she wrapped her children in thick blankets and threw them out the window at a group of teenagers waiting below.
“As soon as I saw that they were caught, I was relieved,” she said. “I was still wondering if I should jump out of the window or not,” she added.
After a second split-second decision, she realized that the window was also the only way to get out alive as well.
“I knew I was going to hurt myself because it’s 30 feet from the ground, but I didn’t have time to grab [anything], so I just had to jump. We were not wearing shoes. We did not have [anything],” she said.
After hitting the ground, she said her leg felt “like jam” as it crawled away from the building. She is grateful that Irmo’s fire chief stayed with her and helped keep her awake until she was safe with the paramedics.
Boyd said she ruptured several ligaments, suffered internal bleeding and that her “leg is now all metal”. She said she is still receiving blood transfusions and will need physical therapy to learn to walk again.
She said she wakes up every morning thinking about that afternoon and knows it will be etched in her memory forever. But she is just grateful to be alive.
The Dance South Community Art Center will continue to carry out a donation campaign for all families impacted by the fire. For more information on when your next trip is due or how to help, click on here.
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