Parents of Erie fire victims attempt to cope with unbearable loss
Shevona Overton and Luther Jones each had children who died in the house fire early Sunday morning.
ERIE, Pa. - A devastating house fire in Erie, Pennsylvania took the lives of five children on Sunday.
The home was being used as a daycare, and the parents of four siblings who died there are trying to cope with the tremendous loss.
"It's hard for me to eat, sleep, cope, it's just hard," said Shevona Overton.
Of the five children killed, four of them were hers.
"I can't even go into my house. I can't see all of their things. It's just so hard to even deal with it," Overton said.
Three of the five children who lost their lives were the kids of a local firefighter.
"I wish there was something I could have done," said Luther Jones.
At the time, Jones was responding to another call with the Lawrence Park Fire Department blocks away.
"At that time, they were fighting the fire, which I did not know that was my kids, I answered a call at Erie Insurance for them for a fire alarm. Around that time, about an hour and a half later, I got a phone call saying my kids were at the ER, come here now," said Jones.
Officials believe an electrical problem sparked the fire, but only one working fire detector was found.
"That kills me the most that they only found one smoke detector, which if they had heard the smoke detectors everybody would have been out of the house and my kids would still be here today."
Overton praises firefighters for their efforts.
"They did the best that they could, all the skill they could learn and skill to know about, they did everything, and I greatly appreciate it and thankful to have them because they risked their lives to save my babies lives," said Overton.
