Mum throws kid from top floor in fatal fire as she yells 'we're going to die'
A mum-of-two from has spoken of the terrifying moment she was forced to throw her child out of a second floor window during a house fire as flames ripped through their flat.
Inas Himedan, a 33-year-old from Huddersfield, woke up last Wednesday morning to find a fire engulfing the family home.
In a heart-stopping bid to save her family, she was left with no choice but to throw one of her children out of a top floor window to husband Yousef Khaled below, who had already jumped with the youngest daughter.
Their neighbour, a 52-year-old man who lived in the flat below, tragically died in the blaze.
Police are questioning a 42-year-old man who was arrested in connection with the fire in Huddersfield (Yorkshire Live/MEN Media)After making sure the girls, aged three and four, were safe, Inas then jumped to the ground as thick smoke filled the second floor flat. Inas, her husband and the two girls thankfully all managed to escaped from the fire largely unharmed.
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But the trauma of the fire has been left deep mental scars as the family struggle to come to terms with their near-death experience. They have also lost everything they own. Inas told Yorkshire Live: "I cant sleep, I can't eat, I can't stop replaying it in my mind. What if I didn't wake up? We could have lost our lives, my kids could have been ashes, it's the thought of what could have been."
The shocked family, who were all asleep at the time, were dressed in their pyjamas when they jumped and have been left with nothing as all their belongings were destroyed in the blaze. Inas says she doesn't know what woke her but she is so thankful something did, describing it as "a miracle".
She added: "I woke up after I heard a noise, initially I thought it was my husband in the kitchen. At that point I didn't smell any smoke so I don't know why, but I got up to go and check and that's when everything erupted.
"My husband was sleeping in the bedroom and I was asleep in the living room. I was going to check why he was up. I walked towards the bedroom, which is near the stairs, and I saw the smoke and fire coming up the stairs. There is only one entrance to the flat so we were trapped.
"I started screaming 'Yousef, Yousef, wake up, wake up, we're dying, we're going to die!' I was terrified, I honestly though it was the end for us. He got up, I ran to the girls' room to grab them. By that time the fire had already come up the stairs and the whole flat was covered in smoke. It was terrifying, we all ran to the kitchen, which is furthest from the stairs.
"We usually keep the windows locked because my eldest daughter is autistic but thankfully we keep the key close by, my husband managed to grab the key and open the window. By this point the smoke had filled the room and we were struggling to breathe, at this point my husband looked at me and said 'we're going to have to jump'.
"He grabbed our eldest daughter and jumped out. I then grabbed my youngest daughter and flung her out of the window to him, I didn't even know where or how she landed and I just jumped after her and then we just all ran.
Inas believes that if she hadn't woken up, or had it been only a couple of minutes later, "none of us would have been alive today". "I can't let my mind go there, all I can think of is my kids, it's something you don't ever want to think about", she added.
A man has been arrested and is being quizzed by homicide detectives at West Yorkshire Police. A force spokesperson said: "A man who was seriously injured in a fire at a property in Huddersfield has now died, police can confirm. Enquiries remain ongoing by the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team into the fire at a residential building on Hillhouse Lane, Huddersfield in the early hours of Wednesday, February 14.
"Police are continuing to question a 42-year-old man who was arrested in connection with the fire. Investigations into the cause of the blaze remain ongoing with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service."
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The family are currently staying in emergency council accommodation. Along with their home, they also lost all of their belongings in the fire and only have the pyjamas they were wearing at the time. Inas said: "We have lost everything, we have nothing left, we didn't even have any shoes on."
The family had been due to move to a council property elsewhere in Huddersfield following antisocial behaviour in the area. Inas said that her car, a black Fiat Punto, was stolen the same night as the fire and Yousef’s car, which he needs for his work as a food delivery driver, has been damaged.
A page has been set up to help the family, who had no insurance for their contents. Anyone who can help the family can donate to the fundraiser, here. Anyone with information about the incident, which took place at about 2.45am on February 14, is asked to contact HMET via the livechat function on the website or by calling 101 quoting Operation Prairie reference 13240083542.
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