Three young children were killed after they became trapped on the upstairs floor of an apartment during a fire that broke out Christmas Eve in northwest Indiana.
Now the 911 calls from horrified neighbors have been released.
The Gary Fire Department said the fire was reported just after 11:30 p.m. Dec. 24 at the Oak Knoll Apartments in the 4400 block of West 23rd Court. It was later ruled as arson.
Neighbors who called 911 pleaded with dispatchers and prayed to God as they watched helplessly while the apartment burned.
Three children, all cousins under the age of six, were killed in the blaze. They were upstairs when the fire broke out.
"It's terrible," said neighbor Diamond Childress said at the time. "I just can't get their screams out of my head."
The Lake County Coroner identified the children as 5-year-old Jayden Mitchell, 4-year-old Alaya Pickens and 2-year-old Yaleah Cohen.
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The fire impacted just one unit in the complex and continued into Christmas Eve before being put out around 1:45 a.m., officials said. Firefighters said slick conditions made it more difficult to fight the blaze.
"Christmas Eve, are you kidding me? Today is Dec. 24, that’s the most heartbreaking thing in the world," said neighbor Jamisha Powe at the time. "I could never and don’t want to ever imagine going through that."
Gary police continue to investigate.
