A nine-month-old baby was left with agonizing burns from a space heater fire after his parents left him alone in a shed filled with the devices.

Leo ‘Bubby’ Strode lost toes, fingers and even his eyelids in the horror blaze at his Oakville, Washington home.

The fire broke out on May 25, 2020 while the youngster was left unattended in the squalid shed by his parents, who have since lost custody of him.

His adoptive family is now seeking $165 million from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families. They claim that social workers should have stepped in earlier in Bubby’s case.

‘There was like red flag, red flag, red flag, red flag, and nobody ever did anything about it,’ Bubby’s adoptive mom Sarah Strode told KOMO.

A witness to the inferno which injured Bubby told police at the time that she believed the fire was caused by the space heaters.

‘Yeah, and probably all their garbage they had in there,’ she said. ‘Yeah, and clothes. It was gross.’ 

The Strode family received a case file on Bubby that revealed his family’s involvement with child protection services even before he was born.

Leo ‘Bubby’ Strode was left with agonizing burns after his parents left him alone in a shed with space heaters which caught fire

The nine-month-old lost toes, fingers and even his eyelids in the horror blaze at his Oakville, Washington home

He immediately require 19 surgeries, including amputations and will require more in future

According to David Moody, the Strode family’s attorney, various members of the community, including a gas station attendant, physicians, and a police officer, had warned about the parents’ inability to properly care for Bubby.

‘Three separate investigations were opened and DSHS didn’t do anything during these investigations.’ 

Despite reports that Bubby’s parents were using drugs and had missed a CPS meeting, no effort was made to ensure the child’s safety, Moody claims.

‘They have an obligation to go out and look at the child’s living situation and to create what’s called a safety plan,’  he said.

‘These aren’t aspirational. This isn’t a wish list. These are mandatory obligations and DSHS didn’t do any of that. Had DSHS gone out, it would have been obvious, obvious that this was a terrible living situation.’   

Bubby immediately required 19 surgeries and faces more down the line.

‘Your heart just kind of ached like every time you were caring for him,’ Sarah Strode said of those initial harrowing months.

‘Every time I was doing the wound care, my heart just like kind of broke every single time.’ 

The fire broke out on May 25, 2020 while the youngster was left unattended in the squalid shed by his parents, who have since lost custody of him

Bubby was removed from the care of his biological parents after the blaze. His adoptive parents said there was a host of ‘red flags’ which indicated he should have been removed sooner

Despite his challenges, the  now-five-year old is energetic and adaptable, his adoptive father said

Bubby was formally adopted by David and Sarah Strode, who care for him alongside their other medically fragile children including big sister Addie, 17, (pictured together) who is also a burns survivor

Now aged five, Bubby, has been left with lifelong injuries which require round the clock care, as well as a crippling fear of being left alone.

 But since his formal adoption by the Strodes who specialize in caring for medically vulnerable children, he is going from strength to strength 

‘He wants to do everything,’ adoptive father David Strode said. ‘He wants to just be a part of everything, and he is. He adapts so well.’ 

Bubby is also taking his lead from older sister Addie, 17, who was burned in a campfire accident as a child. 

The siblings are among eight children care for by the Strodes.

”I just hope he knows that someone went through the same thing as him, and he can relate to me and always come with me with his concerns and issues,’ Addie said.