3 young children die in Kzoo apt. fire

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) - Three children, ages 1 and 3, were killed in a Kalamazoo apartment fire that sparked while they were home alone Monday afternoon.

Firefighters told 24 Hour News 8 they were surprised how fully-involved the blaze was when they arrived at the scene at Interfaith Apartments on the city's north side around 2 p.m. They said the fire was hot and smokey, and had blown the windows out of the apartment.

Firefighters entered the apartment upon arrival even though they said it was extremely dangerous because they were aware the children were inside. When they went in the building, they found the children's bodies. Firefighters would not specify exactly where the victims were found.

Family identified the children as 3-year-old fraternal twins Teniyah Williams and Tevin Williams Jr., and 1-year-old Tyonna Henderson.

"Every one of the officers here are moms and dads, so it takes a horrible toll on them, as well," said Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Assistant Chief Brian Uridge.

No one else was in the apartment when the fire started, Uridge told 24 Hour News 8. He said authorities don't know how long the children were alone before the fire began.

"We're still looking into that now," said Uridge.

He said he doesn't know where the children's parents were at the time. Criminal charges are possible.

Resident Octavius Walker said he and some friends talking in the parking lot heard a loud explosion and saw black smoke rising from the complex.

"The kitchen window exploded," Walker told 24 Hour News 8. "We looked in there and saw a fireball. It was like a movie. I've never seen anything like that before."

Walker said bystanders' thoughts went immediately to the children.

"We assumed that the kids was in there, hoping and praying that they wasn't," he said.

He said several people tried to get into the apartment to help.

"They kicked the door open. Fire came out the door, pushed them back," he said.

Walker said the apartment was on fire for perhaps 10 minutes before anyone realized it was on fire.

He said he has a daughter the same age as the children who died, and that they had been invited to his daughter's birthday party.

"It's just a terrible thing that happened," he said.

Neighbors told 24 Hour News 8 the mother of the children killed in the fire had four children. The eldest survived.

Neighbors also said the mother tried to enter the home to save her children. She was hospitalized.

"I'm sad. My heart is just ripped right now," said Tyonna's great-grandmother Jacqueline Fullerton.

She said the children's mother wasn't far away and had only stepped away for a minute when something went wrong.

"She just heard the kids upstairs, she just heard them crying but she couldn't go get them," said Fullerton.

Family members who have spoken with the children's mother said they don't know what started the fire -- and they're not pointing fingers.

"Why be mad? We can't bring the kids back," said Fullerton. "Why fight about something that we have no control over?"

The beginning of a memorial sprang up Monday evening on the playset behind the residence, including two twin teddy bears and a smaller one with angel wings.

During the firefight, one firefighter was injured after falling off a ladder. His injuries were minor, but he was hospitalized, Uridge said.

There was also some fighting among the crowd that gathered outside the building, Uridge said. Other agencies were called in to help with crowd control.

The apartment where the children were found was destroyed and two others were damaged. It's not yet known how many people are without a place to stay.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown and authorities don't yet known if there were working smoke detectors in the apartment.

The Kalamazoo mobile crime lab arrived on scene at the complex in the 1000 block of Interfaith Boulevard around 4:30 p.m. The fire marshal arrived around 5 p.m. to begin the investigation.

Having knocked down the flames, some firefighters started to clear the scene around 4:40 p.m, though others remained at the complex to cool hot spots.

The fire rekindled around 8:30 p.m. Firefighters responded as flames became visible and doused the fire again.

Anyone with additional information about this incident is asked to call the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety at 269.337.8994 or Silent Observer at 269.343.2100.

The American Red Cross is helping tenants affected by the fire.

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Interfaith Apartments is one of several affordable housing communities under the umbrella of the Lift Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to developing and maintaining housing for low-income families. There are 200 units in the complex, with 198 of those Section 8 housing.