LIBERTY COUNTY — Two young siblings were killed in a camper fire early Tuesday morning in Liberty County despite firefighters crawling inside the burning structure in an effort to save them, according to KTRK-TV in Houston.
KTRK reports the children’s grandfather identified the victims as a 3-year-old boy and his 2-year-old sister.
The fire broke out at about 5:25 a.m. on a heavily wooded property along County Road 3819, not far from Highway 59 near Cleveland, according to KTRK.
Emergency calls from the scene reported an RV fully engulfed in flames with people believed to be inside.
Cleveland Fire Chief Sean Anderson told KTRK the camper was burning and beginning to collapse when firefighters arrived, but crews still went inside.
“They went ahead and crawled in, extinguishing it when it was on fire. They found the kids inside,” Anderson told KTRK.
Both children died.
KTRK reports the camper was one of several RVs and mobile homes scattered across the property, where Anderson said the children’s family and friends lived.
Investigators are trying to determine where the children’s parents were when the fire started.
Anderson told KTRK the parents were “in the area of the fire at the time,” but declined to elaborate.
“That’s part of the investigation. We’re looking into it,” Anderson told KTRK.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
KTRK reports radio traffic from the emergency response captured the gravity of the scene, including a request to send a chaplain.
Anderson told KTRK the chaplain was needed not only for the grieving family but also for the first responders who responded to the fire.
The children’s bodies were taken to the medical examiner’s office in Jefferson County, where autopsies will determine what caused their deaths, according to KTRK.
The Liberty County Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation and told KTRK that additional information will be released after the autopsies are completed.
This story is based on reporting from KTRK-TV/ABC13 in Houston.