Dalton Laing, Freelance Writer

A policeman sifts through the charred rubble of the three-room building in which two children in Frome, Westmoreland perished, yesterday. - photo by Dalton Laing

Western Bureau:

Up to late yesterday, the police were still searching for the mother of two infants who were burnt to death in an early-morning fire which gutted their house in Frome, Westmoreland.

Two-year-old Serena Williams and four-year-old Lamoy Brown were reportedly left at home by themselves when the blaze started.

They lived with two other sibling and their mother, Latoya Ennis, in a three-room board structure.

It is not clear where Ms. Ennis was when the fire began about 3:00 a.m., but her other two children aged five and six were in the company of relatives.

The grandmother of the older children said she often raised concerns that they were repeatedly being left alone.

Against this background, she said she has been seeking custody of the five-year-old child. "I went to the Children's Services just two days ago," she told The Gleaner.

Angry residents

A concerned resident of the community who wished to remain anonymous was obviously angry over the situation. "Night and day the mother lef' them; you could all plant corn pon the pickney them how them dirty."

Residents also reported that this was the fourth time there was a fire at the house, but noted the previous occasions were not as severe.

Meanwhile, Assistant Super-intendent of the Westmoreland Fire Department Roland Walters said far too often, parents leave their children at home unattended.

"I am saying to parents, stay at home with your children. Show them that you love them by staying at home with them," he beseeched.

Although the cause of the fire was not ascertained, it is believed that it may have started from a candle.