Four children died in this house fire at 1308 Norton St. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but is believed to be accident
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The fire at 1308 Norton St. was reported to the Trenton Fire Department at 12:59 a.m. When firefighters arrived there was heavy fire and smoke showing from the gables on the second floor and those who had escaped told firefighters there were four children trapped in the upstairs of the home. Firefighters found that the stairway leading to the second floor was fully engulfed with fire. Even with firefighters from the TFD and the Grundy County Rural Fire Protection District working, the fire was not able to be brought under control until approximately 2:30 a.m.
The four children who were killed in the fire were Rossanna Rolanda Flores, age 7 and a second grader at Rissler Elementary School in Trenton; Mason Roy VanDollins, age 5, a student in the preschool program at Rissler; Rolanda Dawn Saldana, age 6 and a kindergarten student at Rissler; and Saylem Lynn Martinson, age 3. Rossanna, Rolanda and Mason were siblings, while Saylem was their cousin.
Timothy Hughes, Jr., the father of three of the children, told media he attempted to get to the children after smelling smoke in the house. He climbed on the roof and tried to get in through the window or to get the children to respond, but was unable to reach them. Five people, including Hughes and his wife, Jamie Hughes and two-year-old daughter, Marley, escaped from the blaze, as did Saylem’s mother, Sylvia Nichelson. A teenage boy was also in the house at the time and escaped. His name was not available this morning.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family pay for funeral expenses for the four children, who will be laid to rest Thursday. A family visitation is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday at Foster Funeral Chapel in Carrollton, with the funeral for all four children scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.