CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Fire investigators have ruled out electrical problems that caused a Treway Terrace Apartment Homes fire Saturday that sent two young boys to the hospital with one in critical condition.
11-year-old Silas and his 8-year-old brother Jude were the only ones home at the time.
According to Silas, they were both asleep when he awoke to a cloud of smoke.
"I really miss his voice, and I miss his voice and his laughter. Also his dancing," the boy's mother Karen Long said.
Long has now waited at Driscoll Children's Hospital with Silas praying for Jude since Saturday.
"He's been a fighter since he was born," Long said.
"And I was suffocating, I was trying to pick up my brother, but I was running out of the air," Silas. "I got him on the floor, but I couldn't get him downstairs."
Silas recalled the scary moments in his mind.
"Smoke inhalation inside of our lungs, it was damaging our lungs, Jude had it worse," Silas.
Long had been at her dialysis treatment when a neighbor alerted her about the fire.
"I said what's going on and they said there's been a fire, I need to take you to the children's hospital. At that moment I felt like my whole life went right before my eyes," Long said.
Silas was able to get out and get to neighbors, but by the time firefighters arrived, they found Jude still inside and unconscious.
"Right now he's in the ICU and he's not doing very good. I have faith in him," Silas said.
"The staff here at Driscoll is absolutely amazing, and they are keeping me informed step by step of what is going on. They said they would do everything they can in their power," Long said.
According to Silas, the smoke detectors never alerted him to the fire.
Fire investigators tell 3News the smoke detectors were so severely damaged; they can't determine if they were properly operating before the fire.