LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. — The fire marshal and coroner went back to a Lumpkin County house Tuesday where two children were killed in a fire.
The brother and sister were identified Tuesday morning as 1-year-old Kaylee and 2-year-old Noah Gaydon. %
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A fire official says the children became trapped inside the home on Rider Spur when the flames broke out around 4:15 p.m. Monday.
The children's father was away at the store with another child and their mother was asleep when the fire broke out.
‘It’s heartbreaking. It’s really heartbreaking,” said family friend Jessica Keys. “There’s no words to say to Sarah and Jonathan. They’re just going to have to turn to God.” %
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Police say Sarah Gaydon had worked a long night shift and was sleeping in the home when she smelled smoke. They say she got out of the house in a daze, but quickly realized her children were still in there.
Sarah Gaydon tried frantically to fight the blaze and get to the children, witnesses say.
Neighbor Cheri Hewell's children alerted her that flames were coming out of her neighbors' home. Her fiance ran to help, but couldn't get inside. %
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Hewell told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot that's when she spotted her neighbor staggering outside.
“When she found out that they were (inside), then she really, really got really, really upset,” Hewell said.
Because firefighters had been working another fire on the other side of the county, it took them nearly 15 minutes to get there. Hall County Fire was called in to assist Lumpkin County with the blaze. %
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Crews pulled the children out of the house and rushed them to two different hospitals, but they didn't make it.
Investigators say they have not ruled out careless smoking as a cause, but they do not believe there was any foul play.
Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrad says the deaths are hard on everyone.
"For the law enforcement and firemen ... it is very, very sad," Jarrad said.
The state fire marshal will begin an investigation into the cause even though no foul play is suspected.
Keys says prayer is the only thing that will get the family through.
“I don’t ever put limits on prayer. There’s nothing that God can’t do,” she said.
Keys created a GoFundMe page to help the family with funeral expenses. To donate, click here. Money can also be sent to Christ Fellowship Church at 139 Hightower Parkway, Dawsonville, GA 30534.
Cox Media Group
