Houston, Texas: Father Critically Burned as Family Escapes Greater Heights Townhouse Fire

A father is in critical condition with burn injuries after a fire tore through a townhouse in the Greater Heights area of Houston, Texas early Thursday, forcing his wife and two children to jump from a third story window to escape, the Houston Fire Department said.

Houston firefighters responded around 1:40 a.m. on Thursday, November 5, to a townhouse complex on Beasley Hills Lane, southeast of East T.C. Jester Boulevard and West 20th Street, District Chief Terry Amaro said. The fire is believed to have started in the garage after a vehicle caught fire, FOX 26 Houston reported.

Officials said the father moved the vehicle out of the garage, but the flames spread into the main townhouse. By the time firefighters arrived, the family was already fighting to get out of the home.

Neighbors help the children down

Before crews arrived, neighbors helped the two children, who were seen jumping from a third story window, Amaro said. The neighbors also helped the mother, who officials believed suffered back injuries in the jump.

The father suffered burn injuries while he was helping get his family out of the residence, Amaro said. All four family members were taken to area hospitals. The father remains in critical condition. The mother is being treated for the back injuries she sustained in the jump. No firefighters were injured, officials said.

KPRC 2 in Houston reported the same escape on Thursday morning, saying the fire broke out inside the garage and spread to the home, forcing the mother and the two children to jump from a third story window to escape.

A firewall holds the fire to one unit

Firefighters used the building next door to attack the flames and extinguish the fire, Amaro said. A built in firewall kept the blaze contained to the main unit and stopped the damage from spreading through the rest of the complex, he said.

That containment mattered in a townhouse complex, where homes sit side by side and share walls. In this case, officials said the damage stayed with the one townhouse where the fire started, even as the family inside had to leave through a window three floors up.

What is known, and what is not

Known: the fire started with a vehicle in the garage of the Beasley Hills Lane townhouse, and crews were called at about 1:40 a.m. Known: the mother and the two children got out through a third story window with help from neighbors. Known: the father was burned while helping his family escape and is in critical condition, and the mother hurt her back in the jump.

Not known: what caused the vehicle to catch fire. Arson investigators have not released a cause for the vehicle fire, officials said. Officials have not released the names of the family members or their ages, and they have not named the hospitals where the family is being treated.

The investigation now turns on the vehicle fire itself, and on the condition of a father who, officials said, was hurt while getting his wife and his children out of a burning home.