Flames engulfed a home in St. Mary's County, Maryland, early Tuesday morning, killing two young children and injuring their mother, aunt and two young cousins.
Kaleb Johnson, 3, and his younger sister Kassidy Johnson, 2, were trapped inside and died at the scene. Authorities are investigating the exact cause of death.
"I lost my grandbabies," said Dawn Wilson, who owned the home that burned down. She said her two daughters and four grandchildren lived in the house.
Wilson tearfully remembered her grandchildren in a phone conversation with News4. "Their bright smiles. Their beautiful eyes. Their curly hair... the last thing I got to say was 'I love you.'"
Kaleb and Kassidy's mother, Kelsey Davis, was walking a friend up the driveway about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and saw the flames.
Davis' sister, Autumn Bowles, was asleep inside. Davis broke through her sister's window, woke her up and told her to get the kids, their mother said.
Kelsey went to the other side of the home to rescue her kids, but the flames were too intense. She had to leave the burning home.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Neighbors heard Kelsey screaming for her children.
"There would be nothing she wouldn't do for them," Tim Bush, a family friend, said. "She was a single mother. She worked her life away at Family Dollar."
Kelsey, Autumn and Autumn's 1-year-old and 2-month-old were flown to the hospital with injuries that are not life threatening, St. Mary's Fire officials said. Two dogs also died in the fire.
The huge blaze destroyed the entire home, fire officials said.
"It looked like the whole house was lit up all the way around," said Joe Bailey, who lives next door.
Firefighters later discovered the home didn't have working smoke alarms.
A GoFundMe page verified by a family member identified the children as Kaleb and Kassidy Johnson. The page is attempting to raise money for the children's funeral.
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, but fire officials say there were no working smoke alarms inside the home.
"It's just a sad situation," said Chief Deputy Gregory Der with the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal.
