YOUNGSTOWN, OH. (THECOUNT) — An 11-year-old child was rescued from a locked dog cage inside a burning Youngstown home early Monday after a bystander entered the residence and freed the victim, according to a newly released police report.
The fire was reported just before 12:30 a.m. at a residence in the 1700 block of Forestview Avenue. When firefighters arrived, three people were already outside the home as crews encountered flames burning in several rooms.
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According to the Youngstown Police Department report, the individual who rescued the child told Youngstown Arson Investigator Charles Hodge that the victim was located inside a first-floor bedroom confined in a locked dog cage. The rescuer said the cage door was secured with three separate locks before the child was freed.
The police report identified the victim only as an 11-year-old child. Authorities have not released the child’s identity.
Investigators also interviewed the child’s father, although his name was redacted from the publicly released report.
No arrests or criminal charges had been announced as of Tuesday, and police have not said who allegedly placed the child inside the cage or how long the child had been confined before the fire erupted.
Emergency medical personnel treated one individual at the scene for what officials described as minor injuries. Authorities have not released the identity of that person or indicated whether the injuries were related to the fire or rescue.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Youngstown police and fire investigators continue to examine the circumstances surrounding both the blaze and the child’s confinement inside the residence.
Youngstown is located in Mahoning County in northeastern Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border.
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