HILLIARD, Fla. — Officials responded to a fatal fire in Nassau County, early on Thursday morning.
Crews responded to a structure fire in Hilliard at 2903 Jane Lane around 3:30 a.m. after a neighbor called police. A mother and her children were killed in the blaze, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.
Family and friends are mourning over the devastating loss.
“I mean I don’t understand I mean somebody is going to have to explain to me how three people can sleep with five dogs in the house," said Mitchell Tanner, the uncle of the mother who died in the fire. "I know they had to be barking, and I know that German Shepard was loud, something is wrong."
Tanner says she had an 11-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son. The mother was believed to be in her 40s.
He says the trailer was brand new and his niece moved into it 3 years ago.
Sheriff Bill Leeper, with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office describes the damages after the fire was put out.
“The structure is totally destroyed all the way down to the beams. There’s really nothing left," said Leeper.
Leeper says when temperatures drop, they tend to see more house fires, and he’s reminding people to be careful when running heaters.
Several 911 calls were released from the scene to First Coast News. The initial call came from a neighbor.
- Neighbor: "The truck's in the yard I believe they're all in there, unless they got out, I don't... the truck's still there
- 911 Operator: "You think they're all still in the house?"
- Neighbor: "Yeah, but it'd be too late... but yeah."
Tanner says he’s still trying to wrap his head around what happened.
“Something is wrong, and I don’t know what it is it could just be me, but something is not right," said Tanner. "You just don’t sleep through all of that I mean one of them are going to wake up."
The children's father was out of town at the time of the fire. He is heading back to the area after officials contacted him.
The double-wide was destroyed in the flames, officials said.
The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time.
