BELPRE - Friends, family and neighbors gathered at the corner of Florence and Sixth streets Monday evening as firefighters sifted through debris at the scene of an afternoon fire.
Crystal Dillon and James Jackson, who were living in the apartment building with their two children, escaped unharmed with their son Josh, but 2-year-old Bianca was found dead inside the apartment Monday evening nearly five hours after the fire began.
Marietta resident Angel Jackson, Bianca's half-sister, was on the scene comforting the parents.
Article Photos
Photos by Jeff Baughan, Special to the Times
Belpre police Patrolman Eric Augenstein, left, and Lisa Groves, right, assist Crystal Dillon to an ambulance Monday afternoon during a fire at her residence at 8 Sixth St. in Belpre.
"They have just lost everything. I really don't know the chances of her being found alive," said Angel Jackson, while fire officials searched for Bianca.
Angel Jackson said she visited with Bianca as often as she could.
"Even though I'm 26 years older than Bianca, we were close," she said. "To Bianca, I was 'sissy angel.' She is a gorgeous little girl; very happy, loving and bright. She always got her way."
Angel Jackson said the parents were in shock, wavering between hope and despair, but around 8 p.m., family members were notified that Bianca's body had been recovered.
Jeanette Piggott, Bianca's aunt, rushed to the apartment from her house on Blennerhassett Avenue when she saw smoke Monday afternoon.
Piggott called Bianca a "miracle baby," because she was on a heart monitor for the first few weeks of her life.
"She just turned 2 years old. Bianca is just your typical toddler. She liked running around and laughing," said Piggott. "I think everyone really needs to pray for the family right now. They really need people's prayers. I think everyone was hoping maybe Bianca ran out of the house when the fire started."
Firefighters on the scene were mopping up hot spots from the rear of the apartment building. Dillon sat across the street, huddled in a blanket surrounded by family members.
Beth Hutson, who lives near the apartment, knew of the family.
"It's a pretty close-knit neighborhood here. Almost everyone who lives on this street knows of the family," said Hutson, who saw flames as she was driving across the Belpre Bridge.
"When I got here, they were taping off the streets and had everyone move away from the fire. There were dozens of people everywhere. This is a tragedy," she said.
Lisa Groves of Dunbar, W.Va., was delivering a stove nearby through her organization Veterans Connection Inc., when she saw smoke and flames.
"I heard three loud bangs, like explosions, and I just heard the mother screaming about her daughter," she said. "I just want to help."
Groves said the firefighters arrived on the scene very quickly.
"The fire department and the paramedics have been excellent. I am proud of how well they've handled this," she said. "I just can't believe this happened."
