A family is grieving the death of an infant who died in a house fire on Wednesday.
The mother of the child said she wishes people would have tried harder to save her son.
The fire started after 6:00 p.m. Wednesday at a home along Marc Drive in Tampa. Firefighters believe the fire started in the front of the home. The great-grandmother of 9-month-old Rylan Weidman said she was folding clothes on the opposite side of the home when the fire started. She said her great grandson was in his crib.
"I wish I could have done more, but I couldn't. I wish I could have done something," Barbara Weidman said.
The child's mother, Deziray Weidman, left her son with her great-grandmother because she needed to run an errand. She said she was gone about 15 minutes when she received a call the house was on fire.
"Something told me to take him with me when I left, but he was sleeping so I didn't want to wake him," Deziray Weidman said.
Barbara Weidman said she remembered hearing crackling noises, thinking it was one of the dogs. When she went to check a second time, it was something much worse than she thought.
"That's when all this black smoke started pouring into the living room at me and I could see flames and I was trying to get back there and I just couldn't get in," Barbara Weidman said.
She said she went as far as she could toward Rylan, but the heat and smoke were too intense. She said she ran outside for help without her shoes.
"I started yelling help... please... somebody help. The baby is still in there," she said.
Deziray Weidman said she plans to honor her son in so many ways and wants to thank the firefighter who pulled him from the rubble.
"I wanted to personally thank her for finding my baby even though he wasn't alive anymore. I know walking upon a 9-month-old little boy, no longer breathing, isn't something she is going to forget," Deziray Weidman said.
The 17-year-old would like to thank the firefighter in person. Deziray Weidman said the happiest moment in her life was giving birth to her son.
"The best feeling in the world. It sucks that the feeling got ended way too soon," Deziray Weidman said.
She said her son was a quick learner and loved to play.
"He was always happy no matter where we went or (who) we were with. He loved everybody and everybody loved him," Deziray Weidman said.
Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the fire.
“I just wish someone could wake me up from this nightmare," Barbara Weidman said.
