James Manning is a true hero in my book

[Jessiesgirl1108]

Very tradgic story. But for a change we actually get to read about a father who cared enough to give his life for his children.

http://images.stltoday.com/stltoday/resources/manning625jan2.jpg
It sounded like a bad joke. Brent Hawley, according to neighbors, initially brushed aside the call informing him the bungalow he shared with his family was aflame.

Elizabeth Baynes had just phoned a nearby mobile home where her son, Hawley and friends had gathered on New Year's Eve. Baynes assured the group she wasn't joking.

And then they heard an explosion.

They arrived at the scene moments later to find the home engulfed in flames.

Brent's mother, Deena Manning, severely burned, was at a neighbor's home, waiting for the emergency helicopter that would soon whisk her to St. John's Mercy Medical Center.

Her husband, James Manning, who turned back for his two young children when he and his wife evacuated, died in the flames.

Continue reading:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/A2841E6E37ED405286257531005A5F9E?OpenDocument

[godney]

That is so sad. He died trying to save his children. A real father.

[silvahalo68]

Her husband, James Manning, who turned back for his two young children when he and his wife evacuated, died in the flames.

The children Manning tried to save, 11-year-old Austin and 7-year-old Cari, were gone, too.

"It's the worst fire I've ever been involved in, especially because there were children," said Jefferson County sheriff's Sgt. Gary Higginbotham.

The sound of Deena Manning banging on his door awoke neighbor Joe Edmonds, 45, at 4:45 a.m.

Edmonds said he went immediately to the Manning home, but his attempts to open a door where thwarted by the intensity of the blaze.

"I ran over there to see if I could help, but it was too late," he said.

Firefighters found the bodies of James Manning — who earned his living by inspecting fire alarm and security systems — and the children near a window at the rear of the house, about 25 feet from the front door. It appeared they were seeking an alternative to the front door as an escape route, said Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer.

A loving father doing right by his children, so beautiful...alas, very tragic too as they all lost their lives.

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