A Southern California family is spending their first Christmas without two girls who were lost in a Christmas tree fire.
Barstow firefighters were called to the scene shortly before 7 p.m. on Dec. 14 after receiving multiple reports of a house fire with children trapped inside, the department said in a social media post.
Charmon and Akeem Isom told FOX 11 Los Angeles they did everything they could to try to save their family before firefighters arrived, but Aalijah Isom, 2, and Annie Isom, 7, were trapped.
“You run around and try to do everything you can,” Charmon Isom said. “Break windows, run in, try to get in, try to put yourself under fire. “I have (first degree) burns on my feet from trying to go in there.”
Firefighters had to jump through two separate bedroom windows to locate the girls.
They were handed over to police officers who rushed them to ambulances, the Barstow Fire Protection District said.
The girls were rushed to a local hospital.
The family says they lost Aalijah first. Annie was airlifted to a burn center where she was put on life support, but she died after a week-long battle when her parents decided to let her go.
The 7-year-old girl’s organs were donated after her death.
Annie and Aalijah Isom died in a fire at their home in Barstow, California, on December 14, 2023. Annie and Aalijah Isom/GoFundMe The fire is believed to have been caused by a Christmas tree. YouTube/FOX 11 Los Angeles
A vigil was held for the girls on Saturday, where their father said: “There is no amount of money, no amount of valuables that can bring my children back.”
The family is now raising money to pay for the girls’ funerals and help the rest of the family find a new home. It is believed the smoke detectors did not work in the home they lost.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has a website dedicated to the dangers Christmas trees can pose inside homes, as well as safety tips.
Damage to the house after the deadly fire. YouTube/FOX 11 Los Angeles firefighters had to jump through two separate windows to find the girls. Annie and Aalijah Isom/GoFundMe
“It can take seven years for a Christmas tree to grow… and seven seconds for it to become an inferno,” the page states.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn