Father Tries to Save Girl in Fire; Both Die
CORONA — A father entered his burning home Thursday in an attempt to save his daughter, but both died in the blaze, authorities said.
The bodies of Thomas Bailey and 4-year-old daughter Amber were discovered in the rubble of the home on Pine Crest Drive in Coronita, an unincorporated area west of Corona. Neighbors said his wife Sherry, son Wayne and daughter Errin escaped.
“(The father) re-entered the burning home to retrieve his 4-year-old daughter and was overcome by fire and heat on a rear balcony,” said Ed Wass of the Riverside County coroner’s office.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the fire.
A spokeswoman for San Bernardino County Medical Center said Errin Bailey was listed in stable condition in the hospital’s burn ward with second-degree burns over 10% of her body. The hospital had no record of treating Sherry Bailey or her son.
The two-story home was engulfed in flames at 1:36 a.m. when firefighters from the combined Riverside County Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry arrived. They were later aided by a crew from Corona.
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