Four children killed in horror blaze as devastated family mourn
A fire ripped through an apartment killing four young children all under the age of six, it has been confirmed.
The four children killed on Wednesday were identified as Marcus, Markese, Malaysia, and Makayla Walker.
They died in an apartment in East Alston, South Memphis, after a fire started between the bedroom and the kitchen due to rigged wiring, according to Memphis Fire Department Public Information Officer Lieutenant Qwanesha Ward.
Devastated grandad Patrick Davis said to WKRN Nashville: "It hurt me to see my daughter hurting and it hurts me, and it’s hurting my whole family."
The children’s great-grandmother added: "I’m so hurt and sad that all of them had to go.
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"And this was a sad way for them to go. Four children. I can’t understand it. But God, he knows best."
The children were aged from two to five (WREG News Channel 3)The fire department said they would be going around the local community to make sure residents have smoke detectors fitted.
It is not yet clear if the East Alston flat that suffered the blaze had one installed.
Memphis Police confirmed the children's father had been detained, but no charges have been filed and an investigation is ongoing.
The force said: "This is just a tragic situation. We’re thankful for the firefighters who ran in to try to save the children and worked diligently to try to save their lives."
'I’m so hurt and sad,' the children's great-grandmother said (WREG News Channel 3)A witness told WREG she saw fire and smoke coming from the two-story apartment building and she and her boyfriend bravely tried to help, but the flames were too large.
The witness said the children had tried to call 911 for help but couldn't get through.
Heartbreakingly, the witness said she was forced to call the mum to tell her what was happening to her children.
“The guy, the boyfriend, he gave me her Facebook name and I called her on Facebook and I asked her where she was and I told her, “Your house is on fire and your kids are still in there,” they said.
A witness was unable to save the children (WREG News Channel 3)Crews responded to calls just before 3pm and the fire was out by around 5pm.
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“We just ask the whole community now to just reach out,” said Memphis Police Public Information Officer Louis Brownlee.
“Just wrap your arms around the family, continue to pray for them and the first responders who made the scene because this was a tough scene to see four children lose their lives.”
The horror blaze caused an estimated $42,000 of damage.
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