CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Firefighters said a 9-year-old boy and his grandmother died in a house fire in east Charlotte early Monday.
Family members gathered two days later at the home to pray.
“They have traveled a long way to get here,” said Francis Ngereh, family spokesman. “Refugees from southeast Asia.”
The blaze broke out just after 6 a.m. on Latchington Court, which is off Albemarle Road.
When first responders arrived on the scene, heavy smoke and flames were seen coming from the roof of the home.
Firefighters said they pulled 62-year-old Saw Mo and 9-year-old Boe Reh out of the house and tried performing CPR, but MEDIC said both victims were pronounced dead on the scene.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of the service.
“I don’t know what to say for right now,” Ngereh said. “It’s still really hard for them.”
Ngereh said the family left their native homeland, Myanmar, seven years ago for the U.S.
A family member tried frantically to get everyone out of the inferno, Ngereh said.
“Then he ran over and woke everybody up,” Ngereh said. “And some went out from the window and some just by the door. And they tried their best to get out, but we just lost Boe Reh and his grandmother.”
Family members stood outside the home Wednesday morning in silence.
“I’m really, really sorry for them,” Ngereh said. “Yeah, they lost not only the house, but the people. It’s two at the same time.”
Charlotte Fire Department Capt. Dennis Gist said Monday this is a tragic loss, not just for the family, but for everyone involved.
“It’s always tragic when there’s a loss of life, regardless of the cause -- but to lose two at one time, it’s just devastating for our members as well as the family members that’s involved,” Gist said.
Officials said MEDIC evaluated six other people from the house and one was taken to the hospital, but they are expected to be OK.
Channel 9 crews could see dozens of first responders from local agencies such as the Charlotte Fire Department, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and MEDIC.
“When there’s a fire and a fatality occurs, of course there are more pieces to the puzzle that have to come together. More agencies have to work hand-in-hand during the investigation process,” Gist said.
Investigators believe the fire was accidental and started n the enclosed screen porch in the back of the house, involving a “stone-based cooking device.”
Channel 9 spoke to a neighbor who said her daughter saw the house on fire from their driveway Monday morning.
“She was getting ready to go to work and she came out to start her car and she saw the smoke in the back and she ran in the house,” neighbor Shirley Burrough said. “I think it just consumed the house so fast that nobody had a chance to get out.”
Burrough said that when she got outside a few moments later, a boy in his teens or younger was trying to break a front window to get more family members out but was not able to do so.
This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.
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