A pregnant mother and her two children were killed in a raging, two-story house fire in Philadelphia that officials say was deliberately set, with neighbors and family recalling how the “devastating” blaze broke out “really fast” early Friday, forcing the kids’ grandmother to jump out a window with a “baby in her arms.”
“We looked out the window, it was engulfed in flames,” neighbor Yessenia Nieves told local NBC affiliate WCAU about the early morning fire in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood that killed Ashley Thompson and her two 6-year-old children, Alayna and Asad. Thompson was seven months pregnant, according to local Fox affiliate WTXF, which cites family interviews.
WTXF reports that at least one person has been detained for further questioning, but no charges have been filed.
“I couldn’t even imagine in my mind who would want to hurt three babies and a pregnant girl,” said Chyna, a relative and roommate who spoke with WTXF and other outlets Friday but refused to give her last name.
“This morning I got a call that the entire house was on fire and my family was gone,” she told local ABC affiliate WPVI.
“It don’t even seem real,” Chyna said. “It’s a dream — she’s going to wake up tomorrow and call me.”
The Philadelphia Fire Department says it is collaborating with the police department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to determine the cause of the fatal fire. Arson detection dogs and other methods are reportedly being used.
“You all took my family,” Chyna said in reference to whoever is to blame, according to WTXF. “Including the healthy baby she was about to give birth to. “That is a tragedy.”
Nieves told reporters that by the time she and her husband left the house, the children’s grandmother “had already jumped out the window with the baby in her arms,” according to WTXF.
“There was no going back in to help anyone else,” Nieves explained. “It’s absolutely devastating. The entire situation is very sad.”
Thompson was discovered dead on the second floor of her home, and her children were pronounced dead at the hospital after arriving in critical condition.
Police say the investigation is still ongoing.
Thompson’s family started a GoFundMe page, describing her as a “beloved mother” and friend. “Our world was shattered by the sudden and heartbreaking loss of Ashley Thompson and her two beautiful children,” according to the description. “Her children were her joy, her purpose, and the light of so many lives around them.”
