A Mississippi neighbor dug through burning rubble with his bare hands to pull a 4-year-old boy from a house fire in Edwards, Hinds County, newly released police bodycam footage shows.
Kennard Hodge was among neighbors who rushed to search the debris while fire crews battled the raging blaze that consumed the property on Oct. 7. The child was the only one of six minors still trapped inside when Hodge found him in a bedroom, covered in burns.
Hodge, wearing a yellow shirt, sifted through the smouldering wreckage until he grabbed the boy’s arm and pulled him to safety. “You got him?” a first responder asked Hodge in the bodycam footage.
“Yeah, I got him, got him, got him!” Hodge responded.
The child was not breathing when he emerged from the rubble. A responding officer performed CPR at the scene while urging the boy to hold on. “Come on, little man… Hang in there bud,” the officer said, captured on the bodycam recording.
Hodge later explained that he wanted to give the child a “chance” of survival, describing his quick-thinking decision to intervene as the fire raged.
Five other children, ranging in age from 2 to 13, were rescued from the burning property. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, with authorities probing both the origin and manner of the blaze.
Terrence Crump, the Edwards police chief, praised the rescue effort in the aftermath of the incident. “This, it was nothing short of a miracle,” Crump said.
The Hinds County Sheriff’s Office provided an update on Oct. 8 stating the 4-year-old boy was in “very critical condition.” No further update on his condition has been released.
Investigators have indicated they will be interviewing several individuals connected to the incident as the probe continues.
The dramatic rescue unfolded in the small town of Edwards, where neighbors joined emergency responders in the desperate effort to save the children from the flames. The bodycam footage captures the chaotic scene as Hodge worked through the wreckage while fire crews attempted to control the blaze.