Fire That Killed 3 Deemed Accidental

A grandmother and two young boys are dead following an early Tuesday morning fire in Tampa.

According to Tampa Fire Rescue, the blaze broke out at 3720 E. Paris St. shortly after 4:30 a.m. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they found heavy smoke and flames coming from the single story, wood-framed home.

Once inside the home, firefighters found four victims – a 61-year-old woman, a 3-year-old boy and two 8-year-old boys, an email from the agency said. The three boys were transported to local hospitals as trauma alerts. Two, the 3-year-old and one of the 8-year-olds, have since died, Jason Penny, fire rescue spokesman, wrote. The second 8-year-old is listed in critical condition.

The boys’ grandmother, Penny noted, died at the scene.

A firefighter also suffered minor injuries in the blaze.

Penny said the fire was brought under control by 5:30 a.m.

Tampa Fire Marshal’s investigators announced Tuesday afternoon in an initial report that the fire appears to be accidental in nature. The blaze started in a bedroom due to failure of an electrical power cord, an email from fire rescue stated.

The victims of the fire have been identified as Emjay Jackson, 3, Reshard Ashley, 8, and Sheryl James, 61. Meanwhile 8-year-old Romello Jackson remains in critical condition, officials say. The firefighter injured has not been identified.

Damage to the home and contents was estimated at $42,000.

The family, Penny said, did not have working smoke detectors in the home.

“Tampa Fire Rescue and the Fire Marshal cannot stress enough the importance of having working smoke detectors in the home,” Penny wrote. “Smoke detectors save lives.”

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