GRANBY -- A Granby woman is accused of leaving her infant son home alone just before a fire at her apartment.
State Police say 25-year-old Rebecca E. Mabie of 20 West 11th Street is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Police say just before 1:00 on Wednesday afternoon she left her four-month-old son sleeping on the couch, and left to buy cigarettes from someone else within her apartment complex. While she was away, a neighbor saw smoke come from Mabie's apartment. Two neighbors went in and rescued the infant before the fire destroyed the apartment.
"It's pure luck that we came outside when we did, 5 more minutes the baby could have been dead," said Jeremy Smith who lives next door. "The smoke was so heavy in there you couldn't breathe."
Police say the fire does not look suspicious. They believe it started in the kitchen.
"Best case scenario here no one got injured," said State Police Investigator Ben Miller. "We could have very easily had a child death. Luckily it was in a populated area and there were people willing to offer assistance."
Mabie was issued an appearance ticket and is scheduled to be back in Town of Granby Court on August 15th. The charge is a misdemeanor and punishable by up to a year in jail.
State Police and the Oswego County Department of Social Services are continuing their investigation.
This is not Rebecca Mabie's first arrest. She was charged with petit larceny and endangering the welfare of a child in May after Oswego County Sheriff's deputies said she stole merchandise in the presence of an infant. We contacted the Oswego County District Attorney's office to find out the status of those charges, but the assistant district attorney handling the case could not be reached.
