Family Pastor Identifies Children Killed In North Mpls. House Fire
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The pastor of the mother who lost three children in a weekend house fire in north Minneapolis has identified the young victims.
Pastor Harding Smith said Taneisha Stewart was the mother of 6-year-old Latorious, 5-year-old Latora and 1-year-old Latorianna. The youngest would have turned 2 years old on Saturday.
"I loved my children. I would do anything in world for my children," Stewart said on Sunday. "I should be the one who is dead, not them. I tried to do everything in my power to get them out of there."
Stewart's children died overnight Saturday after a fire started in the family's new home on the 2700 block of Penn Avenue North. Stewart and her children had moved into the house earlier that day.
The fire started near the oven, fire officials suspect. Friends of the mother say she was using the oven to keep the house warm because the furnace was not working.
Battalion Chief Brian Tyner with the Minneapolis Fire Department says the intense heat of an open oven can cause nearby items, even cabinets, to ignite.
"So if you have ignitable items within short range, those items can be heated up to their ignition temp," he said.
The house is owned by Dung Tu of Shakopee. He says the furnace was scheduled to be repaired soon.
"They opened the oven," he said. "I say, 'Why you turn the oven on all day? All night?' I can't believe it. They just moved."
The house passed an inspection by the city in January, but records show that the landlord was cited for violations in the last two years. Each time he made the necessary repairs.
People who live near the now burned-out house are still emotional.
"He should have had all that fixed before they moved in there," neighbor Sheryl Wagner said. "He should have had all this taken care of before he showed the house."
In Minneapolis, there is a city ordinance that states heating equipment has to be operational from Oct. 1 to April 20, so that tenants can maintain an indoor temperature of at least 68 degrees.
St. Paul Fire Marshall Steve Zaccard says the key to surviving a fire is an exit plan.
"How you are going to get out if there are children, who is going to get the children out," he said. "You may need to put a ladder up if the children are in a second or third floor window. Have a ladder outside."
The children's father arrived in Minnesota on Monday. Over the weekend, he was still in Illinois, where his children had recently moved from.
On Monday, Stewart was hospitalized. Family says she is having a hard time dealing with her loss.
A memorial prayer service for the family will be held at the Spiritual Church of God in Robbinsdale at 3978 West Broadway on Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. Those who want to help the family can donate to the Stewart Family Memorial Fund at Wells Fargo.
