Mother Who Saved 3 Children From Fire Dies of Burns

A pregnant mother who threw three of her children to safety from the window of a burning home died Friday of injuries she suffered in the fire.

The last child of Nina Davis, 30, who was burned over 40% of her body and suffered scorched lungs, was delivered by Cesarean section four days after the Jan. 21 blaze.

The mother died of multiple organ failure, said San Francisco General Hospital spokeswoman Gloria Rodriguez.

Davis was severely burned as she huddled around her children, ages 3 to 10, protecting them from flames after a water heater exploded in their Hunter’s Point home. Two other children were not home.

She ran to a second-floor window and called out to a passerby, who caught the three children as she dropped them out the window one by one.

San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan called her a hero, and the city declared a day of honor for her.

But the heroic story was later marred by controversies.

The mayor also wanted to honor the man who caught the children--but four stepped forward, each claiming to be the hero.

And when San Francisco newspapers revealed that Davis received public assistance, they received a flood of letters and calls condemning her for having five children while on welfare.