Two pre-teen girls were killed and their mother, father and one twin were injured when a fire broke out in a rented mobile home in Murrieta on Saturday, authorities and a family member said.
“Please help this family … they’ve suffered a horrible tragedy,” Jessica Hales, part of the extended family, wrote on Facebook early Sunday morning.
The fire ignited sometime before 4:45 a.m. on Dec. 20 in the 41000 block of Knight Drive, according to a Murrieta Fire and Rescue statement.
Fire crews arrived to find the mobile home, a carport, three vehicles, two outbuildings and a large pine tree all ablaze.
The firefighters initially attempted to search the home for trapped residents, but with concerns over its structural integrity, they had to switch to a defensive stance until they could bring the blaze under control. That took about 45 minutes, according to the statement.
Authorities believe there were five people inside when the fire broke out.
The ages of those who died have not been officially released, but family members and friends identified the victims as the daughters of Stacey Hales: Emma, 12, and Abby, 11.
Ashley, the twin of the 12-year-old daughter, survived and is now with her uncle, Jessica Hales said in a phone interview on Sunday.
Stacey Hales was renting the mobile home at the location, Jessica Hales said.
The tragedy also was described in a GoFundMe organized by a family friend. It had raised more than $35,000 as of 8:45 p.m. Sunday.
As of Sunday night, Jessica Hales said Stacey Hales and her partner and the girls’ father, Adam Keenan, had been released from the hospital. Stacey Hales temporarily lost her eyesight following the fire, but she’s regaining her vision as she recovers, Jessica Hales said.
“We lost her eldest child Braden R Hales in a tragic car accident 3 yrs ago, and now Stacey has lost 2 of her 3 daughters. The pain is unimaginable,” Jessica Hales wrote on Facebook. “She lost her kids, her pets, her home, her car, her everything. It is just heartbreaking.”
In addition to raising money for funeral expenses, donations are also being sought for the parents and their 12-year-old daughter.
“We’re getting tons of donations for the child. We do need a few more things for the parents, said Jessica Hales in the interview, adding, “Stacey was near poverty already, and this is just beyond life-changing, obviously.
“She’s going to need all the financial help she can get moving forward,” she added. “What’s been raised so far is not even going to cover the funeral cost, let alone everything else.”
Multiple pets also died in the fire, authorities said, though they did not specify what type of animals they were. Jessica Hales said they most likely were dogs.
The fire department is working with the Murrieta Police Department to determine the cause of the fire and exactly where it began.
Staff writer Andrea Klick contributed to this story.
