Two children, 5 and 7, die in South Union Township house fire
By Alyssa Choiniere/achoiniere@heraldstandard.com
State police and a scene specialist with the Fayette County Coroner蘑菇视频 Office discuss a fire that killed two children, Ryleigh Weasenforth, 7, and her brother, Gunner Weasenforth, 5, at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. The children were asleep in bed and became trapped in their bedroom.
Submitted photo
RyLeigh Weasenforth, 7, (at left) and her brother, Gunner Weasenforth, 5, were killed in an early morning fire in their South Union Township home on Jan. 8.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
Two children, Ryleigh Weasenforth, 7, and her brother Gunner Weasenforth, 5, died when they became trapped in the bedroom of their South Union Township home Tuesday morning.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
Officials are trying to determine the cause of a South Union Township fire that killed two children, 5 and 7, early Tuesday.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
Authorities are investigating the cause of an early morning fire in South Union Township that killed two children, 5 and 7.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
Scene specialist John Kondrla of the Fayette County Coroner蘑菇视频 Office, at right, arrives on scene Tuesday morning to investigate an early morning fire which killed two children, Ryleigh Weasenforth, 7, and her brother, Gunner Weasenforth, 5.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
A long line of first responders鈥� vehicles snakes up South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension Tuesday morning, where a fire killed two children, ages 5 and 7.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
A long line of first responders鈥� vehicles snakes up South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension Tuesday morning, where a fire killed two children, ages 5 and 7. State police are investigating the cause of the blaze.
By Alyssa Choiniere/achoiniere@heraldstandard.com
A neighbor holds a baby boy on South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension, showing him the firetrucks and firefighters who responded to a fatal blaze at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
Authorities are investigating the cause of an early morning fire in South Union Township that killed two children, 5 and 7.
A South Union Township firefighter prepares to clear the scene of a fatal fire Tuesday morning, while state police interview neighbors behind the South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension home where two children were killed.
Two children were killed in a South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension home in South Mount Vernon Tuesday morning. Officials are investigating to determine the cause of the fire.
By Alyssa Choiniere/achoiniere@heraldstandard.com
A rehabilitation unit was set up for first responders at a fatal fire Tuesday morning, where two children were killed on South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension at about 5:30 a.m. One firefighter suffered burns to his hand in the fire.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
Two children were killed in a South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension home in South Mount Vernon Tuesday morning. Officials are investigating to determine the cause of the fire.
By Alyssa Choiniere/achoiniere@heraldstandard.com
The downstairs apartment of a South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension home was gutted in a fire that killed two children, ages 5 and 7, Tuesday morning.
A neighboring home on Eighth Street sustained secondary damage from a fatal fire. Two children, ages 5 and 7, died sleeping in their bed in the back of the house. Neighbors said the children's grandparents lived in the Eighth Street home and often jumped on the trampoline in the yard, which was also damaged in the fire.
Alyssa Choiniere | 蘑菇视频
Two children, Ryleigh Weasenforth, 7, and her brother Gunner Weasenforth, 5, died when they became trapped in the bedroom of their South Union Township home Tuesday morning.
Two young children were killed in an early morning fire when they became trapped in their bedroom Tuesday.
RyLeigh Weasenforth, 7, and her brother, Gunner Weasenforth, 5, were pronounced dead at the scene by the Fayette County Coroner蘑菇视频 Office.
First responders rushed to the South Mount Vernon Avenue Extension home at about 5:30 a.m., where flames were shooting from all sides of the house. Family members were on the porch, shouting for the children. Firefighters quickly determined it was not possible to save them. The children were sleeping when the fire started just outside their first-floor bedroom, preventing a rescue, said South Union Township Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Rick McCormick.
鈥淚鈥檝e got a couple little kids at home myself,鈥� he said through tears. 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 pretty hard right now. We did all we could.鈥�
Two men, the children蘑菇视频 father and grandfather, were both injured in an attempt to save them. They suffered burns to their hands and faces. A firefighter also suffered a badly burned hand in the blaze, officials said.
The structure of the old home made the fire difficult to extinguish, McCormick said. The lower level of the home was gutted.
A state police fire marshal was called to determine the cause of the fire, but preliminary investigations did not indicate anything suspicious, said Trooper Robert Broadwater.
The house was divided into two apartments, with one family upstairs and a second family downstairs. The men living in each apartment were brothers, according to neighbors. Their parents lived in the house behind them on Eighth Street, which was also damaged due to intense heat and shooting flames.
Andy Yuhanik, who lives across the street, said he woke up to hear his neighbors screaming from the porch. Linda Talbott, who lives next door, said she saw relatives trying to save the children.
鈥�(The uncle) just kept screaming, 鈥楪et them out! Get them out!鈥� It was awful,鈥� she said, crying.
She often saw the children playing outside in their grandparents鈥� pool, or jumping on their trampoline 鈥� now melted in the fire.
The mother of the children is battling cancer, she said.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 heartbreaking,鈥� she said.
First responders, too, were visibly shaken on the scene.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 hard. It蘑菇视频 just difficult to know that two young lives are lost, and it蘑菇视频 a shame. It蘑菇视频 a small community here. It蘑菇视频 hard to even talk to you guys,鈥� Broadwater said.
A Fayette EMS worker stood solemnly beside a neighbor at the end of a snaking line of fire trucks, ambulances and state police vehicles. Another woman held a baby boy, pointing out the fire trucks for the child.
An impromptu memorial was set up on the porch by Tuesday afternoon, with balloons and bouquets of flowers.
State police were called to investigate at about 6 a.m. when they learned the children were trapped inside. Members of the state police crime unit were also on the scene.
The children attended the Laurel Highlands School District, according to Superintendent Dr. Jesse Wallace.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how to feel from this. It蘑菇视频 a tragic loss. I can鈥檛 understand as a parent or a grandparent how to deal with this,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are saddened, and we are here to help the family any way we can.鈥�
A crisis intervention team, including additional counselors and psychologists, were at the school Tuesday, and will remain until at least Wednesday. A letter was sent to parents and guardians, Wallace said.
Autopsies were performed Tuesday, according to the coroner蘑菇视频 office. Additional tests, including toxicology and carbon monoxide tests, will be used to determine the cause of death. Those results will not be immediately available.
Officials cleared the scene at about 10 a.m.
An American Red Cross team provided four adults and two other children in the home with immediate assistance and lodging, according to Dan Tobin, the regional office蘑菇视频 communications director.
A fundraiser was set up through GoFundMe for the family, which raised nearly $6,300 of its $10,000 goal within three hours. Shienna Ross, who organized the fundraiser, described the children as 鈥渢wo young babies awaiting the next day to go to school and laugh and play with their friends, anticipating running home and playing with their toys Santa brought them, or just to see the smiling face of their mother fighting her own battle with cancer.鈥�
Donations can be made through https://www.gofundme.com/f/young-innocent-lives-lost-in-early-morning-fire. The fundraiser was verified by a GoFundMe official.