Two young sisters died in a house fire in Marion County on Friday morning.
It happened at about 3:30 a.m. along Southeast 110th Street in Belleview, WESH 2 News reported.
When firefighters arrived, the mobile home was engulfed in flames, and flames were shooting through the center of the home, Marion County Fire Department spokeswoman Heather Danenhower said.
Heavy smoke was billowing through the windows, and when firefighters were able to enter the home, they discovered Kayona Carr, 5, and Destiny Gordon, 6, inside. Both girls had died, Danenhower said.
Brenda Miller, the mother of the two girls, called 911 from a nearby home to report the blaze.
"She was transported to the hospital with very severe burns. She had first- and second- and third-degree burns on her upper chest, arms and hands and her face. We're very concerned about her. We had to fly her out to Shands Hospital in Gainesville," Danenhower said.
Miller's aunt said her niece's face was covered in black soot.
"She was just devastated. She just wanted to die. Losing two babies at one time, and nobody was there to help her," Brenda Mills said.
Miller's son, Durrell Miller, 12, was also transported to a hospital for smoke inhalation. He was taken by ambulance to Munroe Regional Medical Center and later released.
The family has strong roots in Belleview. Members of the large, extended family have lived in Marion County for nearly 45 years.
A cousin said the two fun-loving girls had a good time a couple of weeks ago when they were in another relative's wedding.
"They were happy little girls. One was the flower girl, and the other one rang the bell and said, 'The bride is coming. The bride is coming,'" Leaneze Dozier said.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, but officials said the power had gone out to the home overnight and been restored. The highest concentration of fire was in the home's living room and kitchen, reports indicated.
"This is a very small mobile home though, about 1,000 to 1,100 square feet. It's an older mobile home up on cinder blocks, and even though mobile homes are made better than they used to be, mobile homes go up very, very quickly," Danenhower said.
Officials said Brenda Miller lit two candles in the living room when the power went out on Thursday night, but officials said they do not know if the candles were still burning when the fire started.
The home did not have any smoke detectors.
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