Early morning fire in Pompano Beach leaves two young girls dead

Broward Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives and investigators from the Division of the State Fire Marshal and Pompano Beach Fire Inspectors are looking into the cause of an early morning fire that claimed the lives of two young girls in Pompano Beach, Florida.

According to police, around 9:30 a.m. on October 13, neighbors at the Banyan Club apartments at 1830 N.E. 48 St. called for help after seeing smoke billowing from apartment 314.  Pompano Beach Fire Rescue arrived and quickly managed to extinguish the blaze.  After they got the fire out, those first responders discovered the remains of two young girls inside the home.

The two deceased sisters have been identified by police as Abigail Espinoza, five-months-old, and Sofia Melendez, five-years-old.

A fiend and neighbor on the scene told The Sun Sentinel that the father wasn’t living in the apartment with his children. The mother of the girls, Jocelyn Melendez, 23, had left her two daughters and her two-year-old son in the care of her 15-year-old sister, Saidy, while she went to work. According to that friend at the scene of the fire, Saidy had walked to a nearby store with her two-year-old nephew.

… and when she returned, the apartment was on fire. The mother, father, aunt and the 2-year-old were taken from the scene by Broward Sheriff’s deputies.  ~ Sun Sentinel

Investigators are looking into what happened once the mom left the home, which resulted in such a tragedy; and that investigation is still ongoing.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact BSO Homicide Detective John Curcio at 954-321-4210. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or online at browardcrimestoppers.org.

For more on this tragic story, see the video accompanying this article.

(Source: BSO)

~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter