Fallbrook Man Scoops 6 Toddlers from Flames

It could have been an unusual though mundane event, an empty, burning car that draws a gazing crowd.

Kevin Kereluik was one of several people who saw the melting car Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of El Camino North Shopping Center in Oceanside.

But, instead of just staring, he decided to put out the fire. And it’s a good thing he did, because the car wasn’t empty.

“The window of the car was open about an inch,” said Kereluik, recalling his efforts to put out the flames. “I couldn’t see anything because there was so much smoke. That’s when I heard it. A child’s voice screaming.

“I almost panicked . . . right then it raced through my mind, ‘My God, there’s someone in the car,’ ” Kereluik said. “I just dropped the extinguisher that I had and opened the door. And that’s when I saw the kids.”

According to authorities, Kereluik’s heroic actions saved the lives of six toddlers: Cory Hiatt, 4; Danielle Hiatt, 2; Ashley Campbell, 2; Kyle Koets, 3; Brittany Cougler, 2, and Kevin Brusch, 2.

“We had kind of a miracle here,” senior Fire Inspector Tom Fitzgerald of the Oceanside Fire Department said. “You should have seen the car . . . a minute after Kereluik pulled them out, the car was completely engulfed in flames. If it wasn’t for him, we would be talking about six obituary names instead.”

The six children, all from Oceanside and Vista, were taken to Tri-City Medical Center, where they were treated for smoke inhalation and released. None of the youngsters suffered any burns.

The children were left in the car by their baby sitter, Rita Napier, a 36-year-old from Oceanside. She had left the children unattended about 1 p.m. Thursday while she went into a clothing store at the mall, according to Fitzgerald. Napier told authorities

she was in the store less than five minutes. But, by the time she came out, she said, the car was on fire.

Investigators contemplated charging Napier with child endangerment, but, since the fire was ruled accidental, no charges will be filed, according to Bob George, an Oceanside police spokesman.

“Obviously, it was not right for her to leave them unattended,” George said. “But the fire was not her doing. It was accidental.” An electrical or gas line malfunction most likely started the fire, authorities said.

The 31-year-old Kereluik, who lives in Fallbrook and serves as a supervisor for four McDonald’s restaurants in Oceanside, was working at the shopping center when the fire broke out.

“I noticed there were a lot of people watching this car in the parking lot,” said Kereluik, who grabbed the restaurant’s emergency fire extinguisher and told a co-worker to call 911.

“I had no idea there was anybody in there,” Kereluik. “I just wanted to keep the flames down until the fire department got there. There were a lot of cars nearby, and if it had exploded, it could have snowballed.”

Not only did Kereluik save a lot of cars; he saved precious lives.

“I have a 3-year-old daughter myself,” Kereluik said. “Her name is Elizabeth. If I ever came home from work and someone told me my baby was injured, let alone killed, I would be devastated. I think about these children’s families, and I’m just glad I spared them that nightmare.”