A California mom will never again see her six children tear open presents by the tree on Christmas morning.
Only 10 days before Christmas, two of her “cherished angels,” ages 2 and 7, were killed when a fire sparked by the same tree they decorated only days before, ripped through their home.
On December 14, just before 7 p.m., a fire ripped through a Southern California home, trapping inside 2-year-old Aalijah and her 7-year-old sister, Annie.
Their parents, Charmon and Akeem Isom did everything they could to save their babies.
“You run, and you try to do as much as you can,” Charmon told FOX 11 Los Angeles. “Bust windows, run in, try and get in, try and get under the fire. I have (first-degree) burns on my feet from trying to get in there.”
According to Barstow Fire’s social media, firefighters arrived in about three minutes of receiving multiple reports of children trapped in the fiery Barstow City home, that was engulfed in flames and heavy smoke.
“Firefighters jumped through two separate bedroom windows to locate and rescue the trapped children,” the department writes in a release. “They successfully handed the children out of the windows to Barstow Police Officers, who rushed them to waiting ambulances.”
But for Aalijah, it was too late.
The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene. Her big sister Annie was airlifted to the UC Irvine burn facility in Orange County, where after a week-long battle, her parents let her go, ending her suffering. Little Annie’s organs were donated.
Calling the incident an “unthinkable nightmare,” Charmon writes in the GoFundMe created to pay for the girls’ funerals and to help the family find a new home: “A relentless fire stole away the lives of our two cherished angels – Aalijah, a tender 2-year-old baby girl, and Little Annie, a vibrant 7-year-old.”
“Our family’s bond was a tapestry of love, inseparable and woven with unconditional affection. Baby Aalijah, the youngest and the heart of the family, was a joyful, beautiful baby girl,” Expressing gratitude to the fire department that she called “a beacon of hope,” Charmon continues, “Little Annie, a vivacious spirit, had an affinity for TikTok, adding a touch of joy and laughter to [her siblings] lives.”
Speaking a vigil on December 23, the children’s father Akeem spoke to the community who gathered in support.
“There’s no amount of money, there’s no amount of valuables that can bring back my children,” he shared. “There’s nothing that can bring back the happy times that I spent with my child. Both of them.”
While an exact cause of fire is not yet determined, ABC7 reports the family didn’t realize there was no smoke detector in the home, causing them to haphazardly exit when they saw flames flying from the Christmas tree.
“It wasn’t like you heard an alarm system and you try to get everybody out, like hey, hey let’s go,” Charmon told the news outlet. “No, we didn’t have a warning.”
Authorities say the Barstow Police Department and the San Bernardino County Arson Investigators are investigating the cause of the blaze.
On December 27, Charmon shared a Facebook post, saying: “never ever have I felt this empty.”
