In the little Missouri town of Defiance, two small children perished in their home when it burst.
They were at home because their school had been cancelled because of the extremely cold weather.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said that Julian Keiser, 4, and Jamison Keiser, 6, passed away early on Friday before they could flee or be saved from their flaming house near Highway 94, just outside of St. Louis.
According to authorities and a GoFundMe page, their mother Evelyn Turpiano and grandparents Jennifer Ham and Vern Ham were able to flee and reach safety.
“They were the sweetest little boys,” neighbor Sharon Oberlag told the outlet. “They were so cute, and they thought going to school was the most fantastic thing.”
She said Julian, who had just started kindergarten, and Jameson were home at the time of the blast because their school canceled classes to keep its students safe from the cold.
Minutes after the cops came, firefighters also arrived, but they were unable to save the house before it caught fire.
According to Dan Casey, chief of the New Melle Fire Protection District, the smoke-eaters entered via a window and looked for the youngsters.
“They weren’t able to find them right away due to the fire conditions,” Casey said, adding that the boys were later found dead.
Oberlag reported to KMOV that she heard an explosion-like noise coming from the house.
“Everybody came running of course to help and, God, we never realized we would lose the two little boys — it’s so sad what has happened,” she told the outlet.
Oberlag continued, “They tried, Nick and Travis, the neighbor, they tried getting the boys, but they couldn’t, it’s just devastating,”
The cause of the fire and explosion is still being looked into.
According to the Post-Dispatch, the building belonged to the Hoffmann Family of Companies, a Florida business that Missourians David and Jerri Hoffmann founded. The company had purchased nearby eateries and wineries with the goal of making the area the Midwest’s Napa Valley.
“Our hearts are with the member of our team and their family who lost their children and grandchildren,” the company said in a statement Friday. “As family owners, we are committed to our community and supporting our employees.”
According to the publication, the house was close to Defiance RoadHouse, a bar and grill run by Turpiano, the mother of the fatal boys.
Turpiano’s mother, Jennifer Ham, has previously run the restaurant for many years, Dan Tripp, a co-owner of Defiance’s Good News Brewing, told the Post-Dispatch.
For the family, Tripp created a GoFundMe campaign, which, as of Monday morning, had raised over $145,000. The Defiance Merchants Association is a charity that promotes the regional wine business, and he said both women are members of it.
The fundraising claims that “If you ever met the boys at the Defiance Roadhouse, the Christmas Festival or the St. Patty’s Day parade, you will never forget their enthusiasm for life and the joy they brought to all around them,”
“Not only will the family need to pay for two funerals, they will also lose their house and all of their possessions. In addition to your financial support, the family will need your prayers and emotional support as they grieve the [loss] of two special little boys,” it says.
Laura Emerson, a neighbor, came over to hang her Christmas wreath and tack two plush animals to a water pump close to the burned-out house.
“Those boys were sunshine. They were bright. They were happy. They were loved,” she told the Post-Dispatch.
