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Arson victims welcome newborn
Angel Hilling gave birth Wednesday, September 26, to a 7-pound, 7-ounce baby boy named Elijah at 5:02 p.m., nearly fourteen and a half hours after the Hilling family lost nearly everything they owned in Wednesday morning's LaBell Apartment fire on Sixth Avenue. Above, Angel holds Elijah on her lap and tells friends what a good baby he's been. She said, "He's always sleeping."
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HUNTINGTON -- Elijah Daniel Hilling's entry into the world may have been a life-saver for his family.
The 7-pound, 7-ounce baby boy was born at 5:02 p.m. Wednesday, about 14 hours and 30 minutes after his new family lost its home because of a suspected arson in the 100 block of 6th Avenue.
The newborn's parents, Angel and Dave Hilling, lived on the third floor of the LaBell Apartments. They left for the hospital about two hours before fire gutted the apartment building and a neighboring duplex. The blaze also caused minor damage to a third house.
Angel's self-described roller coaster ride started about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. That's when she convinced her husband she was going into labor and they should travel to St. Mary's Medical Center.
"In a way, going to the hospital when we did may have saved our lives," she said. Her husband and daughter are sound sleepers who might not have awakened in time to escape, she explained.
Fire marshals have not allowed the Hillings or other residents to re-enter the apartment building, but Angel believes everything is destroyed.
"Everything" includes baby clothes, blankets and a play pen, along with pictures of Angel's late mother and afghans she made before she died.
"In a way it's bad that we lost everything, but in a way it was good," Angel said. "You just have to look at it that way. It doesn't do any good to be upset about something you can't change."
Elijah is the couple's second child. He has a 4-year-old sister named Christine.
The family lived at the apartment building since November 2005. Dave said they were aware of some "undesirable" people lived in the building. They also knew about drug and criminal activity happening inside the building, but Angel said moving out would have cost too much.
Dave said he wasn't surprised to hear arson was suspected, and the situation frustrates his wife.
"It makes me really angry," she said. "The idea that somebody would do something like that and intentionally do it really, really early in the morning when they know that people might be sleeping. I mean that's just wrong."
The fire started about 2:30 a.m., and Cabell County 911 called St. Mary's searching for the Hilling family about 30 minutes later to confirm the family's location.
Dave took the telephone call alerting him to the fire. He said nurses at the hospital started coordinating help immediately. The family is receiving assistance from their church and the American Red Cross, among others.
"It's almost like a divine comedy," he said in regard to Elijah's timing. "It was a shock at first, but I know we are being taken care of. I'm just glad we got out in time."
Dave initially tried to keep news of the fire from his wife, but she suspected he was keeping something from her and eventually wore him down about 4:30 a.m.
"I got hysterical," she said. "I screamed, I cried and yelled."
Elijah was born with some minor complications, but Angel said doctors expected everything to be fine.
