This article was originally published in The Examiner on October 19, 2017.
By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer
A mother and her five children died in a fire at their home just after midnight on Wednesday, according to Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis.
The six victims were discovered in the remains of the home, and authorities say everyone who lived there is accounted for. The children were 11, 7, and 3 years old along with 4-year-old twins.
“The mother and five kids live alone in the house, the father doesn’t live
there,” Davis said. “He came to the scene, so he is aware [but] he lives
elsewhere.”
The home, which was located in the 8700 block of Fountain Drive north of Silsbee, was a small apartment behind a main house on a residential street, Davis explained.
The Silsbee Fire Department responded at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18 to the fire, according to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office.
Everyone on the property is related, Davis said, but investigators have not yet determined the exact relationship between those living in the main house and the family in the small apartment.
Both the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas State Fire Marshall’s Office are investigating the ire, which is standard for any fatality related fire, Davis explained.
Law enforcement is still working the scene and collecting physical evidence and talking to neighbors, family, and witnesses.
“Our hope is to have a preliminary idea of the cause of the fire before the day is out,” Davis said, but added, “at this point, we’re not seeing anything that’s relatively suspicious that would indicate criminal or foul play.”
Hardin County Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 Charles Brewer ordered autopsies for all victims. The bodies were taken to the Jefferson County Morgue in Beaumont.
Eleanor Skelton 