COTEAU, IBERIA PARISH, La. (KLFY) — A house fire Sunday in Iberia Parish claimed the life of a six-year-old boy. Firefighters say there were 8 people in the house on Hunter Drive in Coteau at the time of the fire. The community banded together in an attempt to save them all before first responders arrived.
Hailey Duplantis was one of the first neighbors on Hunter Drive to respond to a trailer fire Sunday. Two parents, and five children, quickly escaped the smoke, but the bedroom where the fire started still had the oldest child inside.
“They heard the little boy. They were trying to get him out,” Duplantis recalled.
Climbing the outside AC unit with a hose in hand, men busted the window and removed a crib and other furniture until they eventually carried a six-year-old out from the corner of the bedroom. Duplantis rushed to the child’s side with his father to offer what assistance she could.
“I ran over, and I was like look, sir, I was a lifeguard years ago. Would you mind if I helped, and he said, ‘Yes’. So I immediately checked for a pulse. I didn’t feel one. I gave two breaths, and I started a round of compressions”, Duplantis stated. “That was the first time I had to do it live on an actual person, and being that it was a kid, it was really hard.”
Hailey learned the young boy shared a name with her only son, Eli. She applied life-saving techniques until an ambulance arrived. Emergency medical technicians also found no pulse and took Eli to a hospital where was pronounced dead.
“When I saw the young kids that really tugged at my heart because it could happen to anyone. This is hard to go through, you know. Losing a child and especially in such a traumatic way,” Duplantis said.
The caring neighbor said she’s praying for the mourning family that they are okay and hoping they are able to get grief counseling.
In addition to the displaced family, seven kittens and their mother, who lived in the burned trailer, are also without a home. Duplantis fed them overnight and kept them until they could be placed in the Iberia Parish Animal Shelter.
“I’m really proud to be from the Coteau community because everybody stepped up and did whatever they could,” Duplantis concluded.
News 10 has reached out to the Iberia Parish Coroner’s Office and the office of the Louisiana State Fire Marshal to learn the cause of the fire and the cause of the young boy’s death.
We were told the investigation is ongoing and, as of Monday afternoon, there was no preliminary autopsy on the 6-year-old child. Stay tuned to KLFY.com for any updates.