Current:Home > FinanceIndiana community mourns 6 siblings killed in house fire-LoTradeCoin
Indiana community mourns 6 siblings killed in house fire
View Date:2024-12-23 20:21:58
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Members of a northern Indiana community mourned and searched for answers Monday as they gathered for the funeral of six siblings killed in a house fire.
The Smith siblings — 11-year-old Angel, 10-year-old Demetris, 9-year-old Davida, 5-year-old Deontay, 4-year-old D’Angelo and 17-month-old Faith — died after a fire engulfed their South Bend home on Jan. 21. Six photographs of the children and six flower arrangements lined the stage for the funeral held at the at the Century Center convention space.
“We all want answers,” Mayor James Mueller said during the service. “It’s hard to even fathom how this could happen. Why could this happen? How could this be prevented so it could never happen again?” Mueller asked.
“There’s never going to be an answer that’s adequate when you lose children, to have their lives cut far, far too short,” the mayor said.
Fire officials said the siblings were trapped by flames on the second floor of the home in South Bend, a city of about 100,000 people located just south of the Michigan state line. Their father survived the blaze. He told firefighters that he tried to rescue the children but was forced back by heavy smoke and wind-driven flames.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Community leader Lynn Coleman talked about the impact the “Smith6" have had on their community since their deaths.
“They’ve brought people together across this community — Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, young, old, rich, poor,” Coleman said at the funeral. “They’ve connected people that would’ve never talked with each other. They’ve caused people to come together to say, ‘What can I do to help?’”
veryGood! (447)
Related
- ‘COP Fatigue’: Experts Warn That Size and Spectacle of Global Climate Summit Is Hindering Progress
- Georgia high school baseball player in coma after batting cage accident
- What’s streaming now: ‘Oppenheimer,’ Adam Sandler as a lizard and celebs dancing to Taylor Swift
- AI drama over as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reinstated with help from Microsoft
- Dave Coulier Says He's OK If This Is the End Amid Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Battle
- Dolly Parton, dressed as iconic Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, rocks Thanksgiving halftime
- Militants with ties to the Islamic State group kill at least 14 farmers in an attack in east Congo
- UN confirms sexual spread of mpox in Congo for the 1st time as country sees a record outbreak
- A pregnant woman sues for the right to an abortion in challenge to Kentucky’s near-total ban
- Canada, EU agree to new partnerships as Trudeau welcomes European leaders
Ranking
- See Leonardo DiCaprio's Transformation From '90s Heartthrob to Esteemed Oscar Winner
- Mississippi keeps New Year's Six hopes alive with Egg Bowl win vs. Mississippi State
- An Israeli-owned ship was targeted in suspected Iranian attack in Indian Ocean, US official tells AP
- An early boy band was world famous — until the Nazis took over
- Mike Tomlin's widely questioned QB switch to Russell Wilson has quieted Steelers' critics
- Paper mill strike ends in rural Maine after more than a month
- St. Nicholas Day is a German and Dutch Christmas tradition some US cities still celebrate
- Demonstrators block Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York to protest for Palestinians
Recommendation
-
Burger King's 'Million Dollar Whopper' finalists: How to try and vote on your favorite
-
Appeals court says Georgia may elect utility panel statewide, rejecting a ruling for district voting
-
This mom nearly died. Now she scrubs in to the same NICU where nurses cared for her preemie
-
4 injured during shooting in Memphis where 2 suspects fled on foot, police say
-
Joan says 'Yes!' to 'Golden Bachelorette' finale fantasy beach proposal. Who did she pick?
-
NYC Mayor Eric Adams accused of sexual assault 30 years ago in court filing
-
Papa John's to pay $175,000 to settle discrimination claim from blind former worker
-
FDA expands cantaloupe recall after salmonella infections double in a week