Bullhead City Mayor Steve D’Amico offered the Arizona community some words of comfort.
In a video statement Tuesday, D’Amico addressed the house fire that killed five children Saturday night. The victims were aged 2, 4, 5, 11 and 13 and were unable to get out of the two-story building when the fire broke out around 5 p.m. local time.
“I want to express my deepest condolences on behalf of myself and the community of Bullhead City to the grieving families of the five children who lost their lives Saturday in a devastating house fire,” the mayor began the statement. “Your loss is the community’s loss and we grieve with you.”
“This tragedy has shaken the community,” he added.
The four children killed in Saturday’s fire were siblings, according to the Bullhead City Police Department (BCPD). The 11-year-old boy who died was a relative of the siblings, who “was visiting at the time.”
The father of four also told investigators that the fire occurred after he left the house for two and a half hours “to buy groceries and Christmas presents.”
An investigation revealed the fire started “in the downstairs lobby” and “traveled up the only staircase inside the home, preventing the victims from egressing,” BCPD said in a news release Monday.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the main part of the fire within minutes of arriving on the scene, according to BCPD, but none of the children survived.
A father was Christmas shopping when a fire killed five children, police say
In his statement, D’Amico thanked BCPD, firefighters who responded to the fire and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), who are all investigating what caused the fire. He also shared that local funeral home Dimond & Sons has offered to pay “funeral expenses” for the five victims and that a campaign has been launched to officially donate to the affected families through River Fund Inc.
A friend of the mother-of-four, Nikki Sellers, also created a GoFundMe page over the weekend, which has raised more than $16,000 to support parents who lost their children in the fire. Kilee Stockton, who organized the campaign, said the money would help the children’s parents “with any necessary expenses.”
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A candlelight vigil will be held on Wednesday, December 20 at 6 p.m. local time in honor of the five children who died, the mayor said. “All are welcome to attend the vigil to grieve in peace.”
“As the community continues to grieve, I ask everyone to respect the victims, their families and the investigation as it continues,” he added.
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Source: HIS Education