MADISON, AR --- Three children were killed during a house fire in Madison, AR on Friday, February 20, 2009. The fire started just after 1:00 a.m. inside the home at 418 Gore Street. Crime scene tape surrounds the one story brick home. Fire investigators were at the home much of the day.
Lola Johnson lives down the street from the gutted remains of the home. Johnson says the house belongs to her best friend, 37 year-old Toinette Mills. Johnson says Mills came to her home for help moments after the fire started.
Johnson says, "My husband knocked the windows out and my son kicked in the door buy they couldn't get them out of the house."
Fire investigators say Mills and her 9 month-old daughter Mariah escaped. Three siblings, 13 year-old Kayla, 10 year-old Kierra, and 4 year-old Michael Williams, died in the fire.
Eyewitness News spoke to several of their surviving family members, including their older sister, Latasha Mills.
Crying Mills said she wished her brother and sisters were still alive. She said,"Come back for one more day, one more hour, one more minute."
In the hours, minutes, and days to come the family and Madison community must come to terms with this tragic loss.
Friday, fire investigators removed an electric stove from the home. Firefighters say the door of the oven was open when crews first arrived to battle the fire at the home. Investigators are unclear if the stove was being used for cooking or for heating the home. The stove was sent off for testing to determine if it was working properly and if its switches were in the "on" position.
Fire investigators say the mother told them there was one smoke detector in the home but that it was not working. Fire officials tell Eyewitness News they found no smoke detectors at all during a search of the home.
This fire remains under investigation. The bodies of the deceased children were sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Firefighters say this deadly fire should serve as a reminder for everyone to test smoke detectors monthly and change its batteries twice a year.
