A house fire in Murrieta killed two young girls Saturday morning and left their parents hospitalized, days ahead of Christmas. A crowd fundraiser has raised tens of thousands of dollars to support them and their surviving child during their recovery.
Murrieta Fire & Rescue responded to a 911 call at 4:42 a.m. Saturday in the 41000 block of Knight Drive.
By the time firefighters arrived six minutes later, several structures — a mobile home, a carport and two other outbuildings — as well as three vehicles and a large pine tree were already aflame, the city department said in a release.
Three people were taken to a hospital, according to Fire & Rescue, and two people died at the scene, along with several pets.
Fire officials could not be reached to identify the victims but, in an email to The Times, a close friend of the family identified the victims as 11-year-old Abagail Keenan and her sister Emma Keenan, 12.
Emma’s twin sister, Ashley, survived alongside their parents, Stacey Hales and Adam Keenan, their friend Andrea Raikoglo told The Times.
Raikoglo started a GoFundMe page for the family and had raised more than $54,000 as of Monday afternoon to help the family and pay for the girls’ funeral costs.
Hales’ brother, Scott Nalder, will receive the funds on her behalf, the fundraiser said.
Hales’ eyesight was damaged in the fire, according to Raikoglo, but she said that Hales was out of the hospital and recovering her sight.
They are grateful for the help but heartbroken over the loss of the girls, Raikoglo said, writing that “nothing is going to bring those poor children back.”
Fire & Rescue said the cause of the fire was under investigation.