Five grandchildren of an Arizona firefighter were killed in a fire while their father left them home alone to do Christmas shopping, authorities said.
Four brothers ages 2, 5 and 13 and their 4-year-old sister died along with an 11-year-old brother who was visiting them in the duplex Saturday afternoon, the Bullhead City Police Department said.
“There were no survivors,” police said of the fire that appeared to have started in the downstairs foyer and traveled up the stairs, trapping all five children in an upstairs bedroom.
“The child’s father reported to investigators that he was gone about 2.5 hours to buy groceries and Christmas presents,” police said.
Neither the father nor the children have been identified. It is not clear how the fifth child is related.
However, all five were grandchildren of a Bullhead City Fire Department employee, police said, without identifying the personnel or explaining their roles.
The terrible fire happened on Saturday evening. Gofundme
Because of the link, the local department will not be involved in the ongoing investigation. Police will be assisted by the Lake Havasu City Fire Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. The exact cause of the fire has not yet been revealed.
“Our city is dealing with a terrible tragedy,” said Police Chief Robert Trebes, emphasizing that investigators are “working tirelessly to get answers” to bring “closure” to the victims’ loved ones.
About a dozen neighbors saw the fire and desperately tried to put it out, local Patrick O’Neal told CBS 5.
The first members on the scene were assisted by a neighbor who saw the fire. Neighbors of KTVK/KPHO have started a temporary memorial outside the home. 12 News
“We came around the corner and we saw smoke coming up so we knew it was here,” O’Neal said.
The group also broke a window when trying to get into the house.
“We opened the garage door, there was a man pulling things out. “The closer we got to the door, the smoke began to enter the garage and choke people,” he said.
They knew children lived in the duplex, but did not know if they were home, he added.
The child was trapped in an upstairs bedroom. 12 News
“We screamed at the top of our lungs,” she said, saying they did not see or hear anything from the child.
“There’s a lot of guys here that would have gone to that fire if we knew there were kids” trapped, O’Neal said.
When firefighters arrived, a neighbor helped put up an extension ladder to an upstairs bedroom, police said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
