By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A MOTHER’S desperate decision to leave her four young children in the care of a relative ended in heartbreak after a fire tore through a room of their Rupert Dean Lane home, leaving one child dead and three others critically injured.

The children, all under the age of six, suffered severe burns when a bedroom they were in caught fire. The relative tasked with watching them had allegedly fallen asleep and awoke to find the room engulfed in flames.

The incident has left the tight-knit community in shock, with neighbours questioning the gaps in family support systems and grappling with the loss of a young life.

At around 12.45pm on Monday, hospital staff alerted police after the injured children were brought in for emergency treatment. One of them, a five-year-old, later succumbed to injuries.

According to initial reports, the mother had gone to a government agency seeking help, leaving her children with a relative due to limited family support. That relative, overwhelmed and exhausted, allegedly dozed off, waking to a nightmare.

Police say family members are being interviewed as part of the investigation.

Grief-stricken relatives declined to speak with the media during a gathering outside the home yesterday.

Family friend Nicole Pratt said she became alarmed when the mother called her at 4.30am — an unusual hour. On her way to a graduation, she stopped by and learned the devastating news.

“She is a good mother to her children. She’s carrying them everywhere she go. She probably aint had no choice yesterday,” Ms Pratt said through tears, adding that the children’s grandmother suffers from Alzheimer’s and the mother had no one else to help.

Adrian Miller, a former Bain Town resident, visited the family and described them as overwhelmed.

“Somebody’s there talking to them, and they’re trying to do the best they could. Somebody’s at the hospital, somebody’s home,” she said.

Miller also defended the community’s commitment to child safety.

“For the most part, we look out for each other and we look out for the kids. Somebody was taking care of them. They weren’t alone, as far as I understand, but unfortunately that happened,” she said.

A neighbour remembered seeing a fire truck outside the home without sirens and firefighters entering the yard quietly. The full extent of the tragedy only became clear the next morning.

She expressed deep sympathy for the mother and questioned the absence of paternal support in such situations.

“When I had my children, I was growing up my children,” she said. “I had my mommy, I had my brothers. They had their auntie on their daddy’s side. Where are the family from these fathers? Where the fathers, why can’t the fathers play a hand in also growing up sticking, by the mothers if they aint together.”

Chief Superintendent Sheria King confirmed an active fire investigation and said all witnesses will be interviewed. She urged parents to ensure children are left in the care of trusted adults and stressed the importance of vigilance during the summer months.