Dad badly hurt saving 2 sons from house fire; daughter dies

By Jamie Sherrod, James Paxson

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    LINWOOD, Michigan (WNEM) — A local family still is coming to terms with the heartbreaking loss of their little girl after a house fire.

A Linwood father and his three children were inside when it broke out late Tuesday night. The father is in the hospital with severe injuries.

He was able to save his two sons, but his 5-year-old daughter didn’t make it out.

“I got a call from a co-worker saying that my house was possibly on fire,” Daniqua Phillips said.

Those words hit Phillips at work Tuesday night with urgency and horror. She left immediately to rush to her Linwood home which was engulfed in flames.

“I seen two fire fighter trucks and two cop cars the house wasn’t on fire anymore it was smoky,” Phillips said.

Phillips wondered where her family was.

Her husband 33-year-old Harvey Booker was badly injured trying to rescue his children.

Six-year-old DeAngelo and 8-year-old Darren managed to escape the flames.

“He pushed them out the window to get him out. I’m not too sure where my little girl was but all I know was everyone was sleeping,” Phillips said.

Booker was injured as he tried to save five-year-old Aaliyah. She didn’t make it out.

Her mother tried to force her way in to save her little girl. She was physically restrained by firefighters.

“I even offered to take the equipment to get in the house. They wouldn’t let me pass,” Phillips said.

Phillips was at Hurley Wednesday night and her husband is in the intensive care unit with severe smoke damage to his lungs and burns throughout his body. She said Booker doesn’t know his daughter died.

His family decided not to burden him with the news as he recovers.

“She’s loving, very sweet, energetic just a brilliant soul. A beautiful heart all the way around,” Phillips said.

“My heart was pacing you know, didn’t know what was going on. Then when I finally found out, my heart sank,” said Michael Pickett, Harvey’s brother.

Pickett was devastated for his brother and the loss of his niece.

“They lost everything, they got to start from scratch,” Pickett said.

He’s created a go fund me page hoping to help with housing, his niece’s funeral, and his brother’s medical care.

“It can’t take away the pain it just eases the stress off of them, so they don’t have to worry about where they’re going to stay,” Pickett said.

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