Mother, two young children killed in Richmond house fire

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - A mother and her two young children were killed in a house fire early Sunday morning on Richmond’s southside.

Fire crews were called to the 4200 block of Banton Street around 7 a.m. to find heavy fire and smoke coming from the second story of the home.

“The fire that they found in a room on the second floor was put out in 15 minutes,” said Amy Vu, public information officer for the Richmond Fire Department. “The fire was under control in 20 minutes, so that’s pretty fast.”

Officials say six people were inside the home when the fire started.

A 22-year-old mother, Jasmine Allen, had reportedly jumped from a second-story window and was found on the ground outside the home.

Firefighters pulled two children, 4-year-old Kadene Allen and 9-month-old Jadae Copeland, from the second story of the home and performed CPR in an attempt to revive them.

Officials say the mother and her two children died at the hospital.

Two of the three men inside the home remain hospitalized with injuries. An uncle, grandfather and a family friend were on the first floor of the home and were taken to the hospital. Crews say the uncle and family friend is in stable condition. The grandfather does not have injuries.

While working to rescue the people inside the home, one Richmond firefighter was also injured. He is being treated for burns to his hands.

Fire investigators say the fire started in a room on the second floor and that there were no working smoke detectors in the home. Vu said the home hadn’t replaced its smoke detectors since 2002.

Vu said firefighters are working to determine what caused the deadly blaze as the department provides resources to their team.

“Members of our executive staff and our command staff will go and visit the stations after and there’s critical stress debriefing and they talk about the situation,” Vu said. “The resources are there and there’s a heavy focus on mental health.”

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