‘Devastating’: Fundraiser created for family after four girls killed in North Carolina house fire

CHADBOURN, N.C. (WNCN) — A fundraising effort was launched Tuesday after four little girls — all sisters — died in a North Carolina house fire early Saturday as two other girls managed to escape and call for help.

No adults were at home around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, when the fire broke out, which killed the girls aged 2 to 7, Columbus County Fire Marshal Shannon Blackman told CBS 17.

Two other 12-year-old girls  — one a sister of the others — managed to escape the North Colony Road home, about a mile northeast of Chadbourn, officials said.

Their 911 call soon brought help with a Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and a Chadbourn Rescue team arriving in just seven minutes.

But, the home was already engulfed in flames and the first responders couldn’t save the girls trapped inside.

“There was no way they could enter the structure at that point,” Blackman said.

Two Columbus County residents have now started a GoFundMe for the family.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the tragic loss of Kendall, Kalani, Josie, and Sophia, who passed away in a house fire,” Ansley Hayes and B. Tyler Grainger wrote online.

The deaths have shaken the community and many people knew the family and mother, identified as Reagan Powers by the Columbus County News.

“These beautiful souls brought immense joy and love to their family and everyone who was blessed to know them,” the fundraiser said about the little girls who died.

Hayes and Grainger identified the older sister as Winter “who has lost everything in this tragedy.”

“Thank you for your kindness, compassion, and support. Together, we can provide some comfort and relief to a family in profound need,” the fundraiser said.

Officials have not announced any charges in the fire.