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Mother And Her Five Young Children Tragically Die In House Fire In Texas As Cause Remains A Mystery

By Kathryn Cook
Published on: 05:04 PST, Oct 20, 2017

A young Texas mother and her five children tragically died from smoke inhalation when their home in Silsbee, Texas, was overcome by fire.

According to ABC 7 Chicago, Ashley Pickering and her five kids were inside their home on Wednesday when the house became engulfed in flames. Sadly, no family members who were inside of the home survived. The victims include 31-year-old Ashley Pickering and her children: 3-year-old Camden, 4-year-old twins Cash and Cadence, 6-year-old Serenity, and 11-year-old Cristian.

ABC reports that the 911 call from a neighbor came at 12:15 a.m. on Wednesday. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they were able to extinguish the blaze but later found six bodies inside of the structure that appeared to have been converted into a home. Hardin County Sheriff Mark Davis said that it is likely that the family was sleeping when smoke overcame the home.

Davis reports that the father, who did not live in the home, was distraught when he arrived at the scene. The cause of the fire is still under investigation at this time, but it appears that it was not deliberately set.

“It’s a very emotional task and our hearts, first and foremost, go out to the family. But we’re also looking at our first-responders, especially our firefighters. It’s a very difficult situation to be dealing with deaths like this that include so many children,” Sheriff Davis said in a conference.

According the 12 News, Ashley was a well-liked employee at Panera and her manager Alex Garza called her a “delight to be around. Garza also told 12 News that most of his conversations with Pickering were always about her children and he also told reporters that Ashley would do anything for her kids. Often times, the children would visit their mother at work and ask for cookies.

On Wednesday afternoon, ABC 12 reported that a prayer vigil was held to remember the family who was lost in the terrible accident. Dozens of people attended the service at Silsbee High School’s auditorium, including the children’s uncle, Jon Mattox.

In an interview, Mattox confessed that he’s not really sure how to feel right now but also said that he appreciates the community rallying around his family in support. His brother was the father of the five children who died.

Do you think anything could have been done to avoid this accident?

[Featured Image by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images]

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