Dad saved family from St. Paul fire, except 1 child

Peter "Dao" Yang plunged blindly back through the flames of the burning house, time and again, to pull his loved ones to safety.

First his wife and four of his young daughters. Then he carried his elderly mother out on his back.

But in the chaos of a terrifying Sunday night, the desperate father ran out of time, with one child left to save. Despite searching through the smoke and soot of his family's two-story "American dream" home, Yang was unable to find his daughter Ntshialiag. Firefighters later found the girl's tiny body on the second floor of the house in St. Paul's ­Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

But it was too late.

A week after her 4th birthday, Ntshialiag Yang became St. Paul's first fire fatality of 2015.

(A house fire in south Minneapolis early Sunday claimed the life of Diego F. Rivera, making the 24-year-old the third fire fatality of the year in that city.)

"We're still in shock," Michael Yang, Ntshialiag's uncle, said Monday. "Everybody wants the little girl to come back."

The cause of the fire was under investigation Monday, said Steve Zaccard, St. Paul fire marshal. Earlier in the day, outside the house on the 500 block of E. Jessamine, Michael Yang said that his brother was up all night "blaming himself" for not being able to save the girl.

He said his brother was in no condition to talk Monday, but gave the following account of what happened, based on information provided by Peter and his family:

Peter Yang was upstairs in the house about 8:30 p.m. when his oldest daughter rushed up the stairs to tell him the home was on fire. As Peter Yang raced downstairs to get everyone out, there was an explosion and the electricity went out.

Determined to find his family, Yang felt his way around the corners of the home, holding his eyes shut to protect them from the smoke.

Somehow, he was able to guide four of his daughters, ages 1 to 10, and his wife, to safety.

But when Yang went back into the house and called out for his 83-year-old mother and Ntshialiag, there was no answer.

He worked his way to his mother's bedroom and continued to feel around the room until he found her in the bathroom. As he tried to direct her through the house, she fell. He then picked her up and carried her outside.

Over the next few minutes, and in between gasps of fresh air outside, Yang raced back into the house again and again, looking for his daughter.

After firefighters found the girl, she was taken to Regions Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Neighbor Katie Kane said that she'll never forget the image of firefighters carrying Ntshialiag's small body from the home as the girl's distraught mother looked on.

"She kept saying, 'My baby, my baby! My baby is in the house!' " Kane said, crying as she recounted the scene.

Kane said she tried to console Vue as she rushed toward the ambulance.

Vue wasn't wearing shoes or a jacket, said Judy Mangan, who lives across the street from the Yangs. Mangan's boyfriend ran outside to give her his boots and something to wear, she said.

"It's devastating. I just felt so bad for the family," Mangan said Monday.

Kane said she saw who she assumed was Peter Yang, dressed in a suit, which he happened to be trying on before the fire started.

"He was full of black, nothing but black soot," Kane said. "You couldn't even see the guy."

Peter Yang and his wife were later treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation, Michael Yang said.

In an interview Monday, Zaccard praised Peter Yang's actions.

"Seven people survived that fire due to his efforts alone," Zaccard said.

The house is an older home with old appliances and a circuit breaker that went off on a regular basis, Michael Yang said.

"Somehow, something happened," he said.

Fire officials and relatives said Monday that the house was equipped with working smoke alarms. Both the Yangs' house and the neighboring duplex, which also caught fire, are owner-occupied homes, which aren't regularly inspected by the city.

The Yang family moved to Minnesota from Laos in the late 1970s, Michael Yang said. They bought the home in the 1990s.

"All the family comes here on a regular basis," he said. "We convene here because this is our American dream house."

On Monday, it looked like anything but that. Several windows were boarded with plywood.

Near the front steps were several small black-and-pink sneakers, which looked similar to ones Ntshialiag was wearing in a family photo.

"She's a girl with a lot of … heart," Michael Yang said of his niece, adding that she was a "little tomboy" who loved to make friends and share candy.

"We will continue to remember the life of that little, beautiful girl who was all smiling and running around … The family will be closer from now on."

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495

Twitter: @stribnorfleet