5 young grandkids of Arizona fire department employee die tragically in fire: 'There were no survivors'

A terrible housefire in Arizona over the weekend left five kids dead, all of whom were the grandchildren of a fire department employee.

At 4:54 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, first responders received a call about a fire at a duplex in Bullhead City in the northwestern corner of Arizona, just across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada. Firefighters raced to the scene, had "water on the fire" within six minutes, and had extinguished the blaze entirely by 5:03 p.m., police said.

Before firefighters even arrived, neighbors were already at the residence, doing anything they could think of to contain the fire and rescue anyone who might be inside. Someone had found even an extension ladder and secured it to an upstairs bedroom.

"We were screaming at the top of our lungs," said local resident Patrick O’Neal, but they received no response.

Despite the bravery of the neighbors and the efficiency of the firefighters, the bodies of five children were discovered in an upstairs room in the duplex. Four of the children were siblings: 2-, 5-, and 13-year-old boys and their 4-year-old sister. The other boy was an 11-year-old relative who was "visiting at the time," a statement from the Bullhead City Police Department said.

"There were no survivors," the statement confirmed.

No adults were home when Bullhead City fire killed 5 childrenwww.youtube.com

The siblings' father, who has not been named, was out shopping for groceries and Christmas gifts at the time. He estimated to authorities that he was gone about two and a half hours.

All five victims were also the grandchildren of an employee with the Bullhead City Fire Department. For that reason, BCFD is not involved in the investigation into the fire. That investigation is now led by the Lake Havasu City Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

So far, investigators have determined that the fire likely began in the foyer downstairs and then quickly spread to the staircase, trapping the kids upstairs. How the fire started in the first place still remains unknown, but authorities say they want to find out just as much as anybody else.

"Like you, we want answers, too, to try to understand what happened and bring some closure and peace to parents and families involved," said Police Chief Robert Trebes.

Everyone is "working tirelessly to get answers," he added.

The deaths of the five young children have left the community devastated. "There are many guys out here who would’ve gone into that fire if we’d have known there were children [inside]," neighbor O'Neal said.

Anyone with information, including photos or video of the fire, is asked to contact the Bullhead City Police Department at (928) 763-9200.

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