RISHARD KHAN

DESPITE the heroic efforts of her parents, her grandfather, neighbours and a crew of T&TEC workers to rescue her, 13-month-old Harley Persad died in a fire in her Endeavour home on Wednesday morning.

Harley was asleep in her crib when a fire broke out at the family’s Egypt Extension, Soogrim Trace home around midday.

Her grandfather, Deosaran Persad, said her parents, Leandra and Hemant Persad, put her in her crib around 10 am after returning home from dropping her five-year-old brother, Liam, at school and visiting the supermarket.

He said everyone was downstairs in various parts of the house when, around 11 am, they realised the room was on fire. They tried to get into the room to save her but all three were injured.

“We made one or two attempts to get into the room but the room was so much in smoke and fire that we couldn’t access or get into where the baby was,” he said. “When I ran upstairs I heard her bawl out once, and as I say, when I saw the volume of smoke, I realised that she couldn’t handle that.”

Christopher Ramtahal was cutting a neighbour’s lawn obliquely opposite the Persads' home and noticed smoke coming from the bedroom window. He immediately ran to his home two houses away, seeking his brother’s help to contain the fire.

“I hear them (the Persads) start to bawl and say, 'The child inside, the child inside.' So we rushed upstairs to see how we could assist,” Ramtahal said. “We take hose, we try to out as much as we could but it was unbearable with the fire inside.”

He said even a T&TEC work crew in the area stopped and tried to rescue the baby, using fire extinguishers from their vehicle to try and quell the blaze.

Ramtahal’s brother, Bobby, showed reporters his hands, bruised from trying to get Harley out.

Ramtahal estimates the fire service took around half an hour to respond.

Although the cause of the fire is yet to be determined, relatives speculate that a fan, which was left running continuously to keep the baby cool, could be a likely source.

Harley’s mother, Leandra, 23, was hospitalised for injuries she suffered while trying to rescue her. Her father, Hemant Persad, 25, was unable to speak to reporters. He was seen gasping and coughing continuously. Relatives said he was suffering from smoke inhalation after trying to save his daughter.

He was taken for treatment and returned home a short while later. While Newsday was present, an ambulance arrived to treat Hemant.

Relatives were also mobilising to get Harley’s grandfather medically examined after he was injured during the rescue attempt and had a persisting cough.

Reminiscing about his only granddaughter, he told reporters he remembered the smile she gave him when the family returned home just before the blaze. He said his fondest memory with her was from the day before.

“I was sitting on the step, putting on my shoes to go out...and on three separate occasions, she came to me looking for hug-ups. So I got three big hugs from her,” he said.

He said it was fortunate her brother was i