9-1-1 Calls Released in Fire that Killed Florida Boy

June 25--LAUDERHILL -- After 9-year-old Justin Isme jumped out a second-floor window early Monday to escape encroaching flames, he worried about his brother still trapped in their burning home.

Justin, standing with a neighbor who called 911, sobbed and repeatedly called his little brother's name: "Jayden, Jayden."

"There's a fire and it's big, and there's a little boy stuck on the second floor," the woman told a 911 operator. "I don't know where the parents of these kids are."

The brothers, Justin and Jayden Isme, were home alone when the fatal pre-dawn fire ignited Monday in the home they share with their mother, Melanie Harvey, said Lt. Michael Butkus, a spokesman for the Lauderhill Police Department.

Numerous 911 calls streamed in to report the trapped child, the growing blaze, exploding windows and a flaming roof. Lauderhill police released recordings of the calls Tuesday afternoon.

"With all that smoke, he probably passed out in there," the first caller told the operator. "Oh my God, please hurry up ... Oh my God, oh my God ... that little boy, he's on the second floor."

Firefighters were unable to rescue Jayden, 8, when they arrived about 4:30 a.m. and encountered flames so intense that they had to back out of the crumbling building at 2031 NW 59th Way.

Justin suffered minor injuries after jumping to safety and running to a neighbor's home for help. He is now in his mother's care, Butkus said Tuesday.

"It's a fire, big fire," one caller says. "It just looks like it's coming out of the building. I don't know how it got so big."

Another caller says: "There's a big, huge fire and a child in the house ... the windows are busting out."

While on the phone with the 911 operator, the first caller can be heard asking Justin: "Where's your mom?"

His response is audible on the recording: "She's at work. My dad was here ... He left ... My dad left us."

Authorities have not yet decided whether to prosecute the parents for leaving the children alone, Butkus said Tuesday.

"It's still too early to determine criminal charges," he said. "We have a lot of pieces we have to put together before we can say 'yes' or 'no.'"

Neither the origin nor cause of the fire has been determined, Butkus said, nor how long the boys were home alone.

The father's name hasn't been released. Police are waiting until after they've concluded their interview with him, Butkus said.

The boys' parents spent most of Monday being questioned at police headquarters.

tealanez@tribune.com, 954-356-4542 or Twitter @talanez

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