Fire Victim’s Last Call Was to 911

The Clinton County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office has released logging tapes made from a rural farmhouse last Monday, documenting the last minutes of life of a mother and one of her children. Taren Burris, 26, dialed 911 just after 8 a.m. to report the house was filled with smoke, and followed the instructions of a sheriff’s dispatcher to stay close to the floor. At one point the dispatcher asked if she could break a window to escape, but Burris said she couldn’t see or find the window. Seven minutes into the call, Burris went silent, and two minutes later firefighters arrived on-scene and began searching for her and her 2 year-old son. Firefighters found both on the second floor of the smoke-filled house—neither survived. A second child managed to run from the house and he also dialed 911. Listen to the 911 call and the various radio channels here (#1 the son’s call, #2 the victim’s boyfriend, #3 Burris, #4-47 other calls and radio traffic).