Three girls aged 7, 8 and 10 are killed in Buffalo house fire that also seriously injured their grandma, days after city was hit by historic blizzard – pastor says community is supporting family after New Years Eve tragedy
- Three girls were killed in an early morning house fire in Buffalo on Sunday
- Eight people, including six children, were in the home when the blaze erupted
- Firefighters were able to pull out two children while three others safely escaped
Three girls were killed in a Buffalo house fire that left several others injured days after the town was hit with a deadly snowstorm.
The two-story home where eight people were inside, including six children when the fire erupted at 207 Dartmouth Avenue before 7.30am on Saturday.
All but three victims, all girls aged 7, 8 and 10 were unable to make it out of the blaze. The home belonged to the family of Clarence and Lisa Liggans, but the children have not been identified.
Firefighters were able to pull two children in critical condition, aged around three and 10, out of the fire.
An aunt in the home was first to notice the fire and quickly escaped with an infant and the children’s grandmother before first responders arrived.
Three girls were killed in an early morning house fire in Buffalo on Sunday
Footage of the fire showed officers entering the second floor of the home with a ladder outside of the home. Smoke was seen leaving the second story as several firefighters attempted to enter inside.
Children were later seen being taken away from the scene on a stretcher. The grandmother, 63, and two children remain in critical condition, but the infant was unharmed.
Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire.
The family were members of Cornerstone Church Ministries in Buffalo. Their pastor, Dwayne Price, told DailyMail.com the deaths were a ‘tragedy.’
‘The Liggans family are wonderful they always put people in the community first,’ Price said. ‘I’m really glad to know them it’s a complete tragedy, this is the last thing you have on your mind, or what you’re expecting going into the New Year.’
Price has since set up a GoFundMe to help the family.
‘They’ve been in the community a really long time, we just want to be able to help them while they’re hurting,’ he said.
The family is expected to speak out on Sunday, according to Price.
‘They lost everything.’
The two-story home belonged to the family of Clarence and Lisa Liggans where eight people were inside, including six children when the fire erupted at 207 Dartmouth Avenue
Firefighters were able to pull out two children while three others safely escaped. Two people were seen being transported to a hospital
Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire where three children died
The grandmother and two children remain in critical condition after the New Year’s Eve fire
The family were members of Cornerstone Church Ministries in Buffalo, where Pastor Dwayne Price has since set up a GoFundMe to support the family
The fire is the second tragedy to hit Buffalo in the past week as the death toll from a deadly winter storm in northern New York has officially risen to 39 as of Thursday.
The latest death was recorded when a grandmother was found dead just a few hundred feet from her home after she decided to brave the wild weather to gather supplies.
Seventeen of the victims were found outside in the freezing cold, 11 were found dead inside their homes after the storm knocked out power to thousands of people, while four were in their cars and four others had heart attacks while shoveling or plowing the more than eight feet of slush.
Three others died because emergency crews could not get to them on time, after hundreds of cars were left abandoned on city streets and a driving ban was put in place.
The town has now spent $5million on private contractors to help with storm cleanup, $1 million of which will be allocated directly to Buffalo alone.