Catch up with all The Tribune's coverage of the LaPorte Avenue house fire that killed six
Five children died in a Jan. 21 fire at 222 N. LaPorte Ave. A sixth sibling, who had been taken to taken to Indiana University Health’s Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis, died Jan. 26. Their father survived. Here's The Tribune's full coverage.
'I want to be buried with them': Dad of six kids lost in fire criticizes memorial fund
The purpose of the Smith Family Memorial Fund, created three days after a deadly house fire on South Bend's west side that ultimately killed six children, seemed straightforward.
But more than two months later, the children's father says he's received very little money from the fund bearing his family's surname.
Among his complaints is the fund's managers won't use any of the donated money to pay for a burial plot so he can be laid to rest among his children.
Fire extinguisher giveaway reaches 300 of 1,000 goal
In the aftermath of the fire, the Rev. Sylvester Williams, the head of radio station WUBS-FM (89.7), pledged to put 1,000 fire extinguishers in 1,000 homes by April 1, enlisting the community’s help in the gathering and dispersing of them.
Within a month, Williams said, the effort had reached 300 homes, and he was still confident in reaching the goal.
Indiana Homeland Security: No foul play detected
So far, investigators have found “no indication of foul play” in the cause of the Jan. 21 fire that killed six children in South Bend, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security said in a press release issued Thursday afternoon.
The release said the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office continues to investigate the cause and origin of the fire, which occurred about 6:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at 222 N. LaPorte Ave.
'It's gonna take time': Investigation in Smith family fire continues
The fire investigation for the fatal residential fire, which killed six children, remains ongoing, the South Bend Fire Department said in a press release Friday morning.
The community continues to mourn the deaths of 10-year-old Demetris Smith, 9-year-old Davida Smith, 5-year-old Deontay Smith, 4-year-old D’Angelo Smith and 17-month-old Faith Smith, who died from the fire in their home that night, and for their sister, 11-year-old Angel Smith, who died days later on Jan. 26 at Riley Children's Health in Indianapolis.
South Bend community shows support at Smith children's funeral at Century Center
Heavy hearts joined the Smith family as the South Bend community united in a single purpose: support.
Community members gathered Monday, Feb. 5 at Century Center for the visitation and funeral for 11-year-old Angel Smith, 10-year-old Demetris Smith, 9-year-old Davida Smith, 5-year-old Deontay Smith, 4-year-old D’Angelo Smith and 17-month-old Faith Smith, all of whom died after a fire blazed through their home at 222 N. LaPorte Ave. two weeks ago on Jan. 21.
Quiet mood as public begins paying respects to 6 kids lost to fatal fire
The visitation for the six Smith children who died in a house fire Jan. 21 began quietly Monday — their cremains perched neatly among flowers — as visitors entered a Century Center convention hall with 2,000 seats.
Firefighters discuss 'being good stewards of mental health' following 6 dead in fatal fire
The fire united the community in grief, but the South Bend Fire Department continues to tackle their own flashbacks of the outcome that night.
Community offers prayers of remembrance for six children killed in South Bend house fire
Friends, family, neighbors and community leaders gathered Sunday at the scene of a fatal residential fire, offering prayers, tears and blessings one week after it claimed the lives of six South Bend children.
Those who attended and showed support for the children's father, David Smith, who survived the fire, were asked to bring white, pink and blue balloons. Together, residents launched the balloons into the sky, reciting the names of the children: Angel, Demetris, Davida, Deontay, D’Angelo and Faith, echoed through the air.
Wind 'can contribute to explosive fire growth.'
As fire crews from the South Bend Fire Department's Engine 2 faced the raging residential fire at 222 N. LaPorte Ave. on Jan. 21, the winter winds produced challenging conditions.
"The inclement weather, the brutal winds, have been raging through our area for the last few days," South Bend Fire Department Chief Carl Buchanon said at a press conference Monday, Jan. 22, following the incident the previous evening.
How can parents discuss death with a child?
Following the deaths of two Madison STEAM Elementary students due to a tragic residential fire Sunday, Jan. 21, at 222 N. LaPorte Ave., parents discussed talking with their own children about loss and how they navigated that conversation.
Sixth child dies from South Bend house fire injuries
Angel Smith was pronounced dead at 9:46 a.m. Friday at Riley Children's Health in Indianapolis, a family friend confirmed to The Tribune.
Angel, 11, had been one of two survivors, along with her father, David Smith, in a residential fire Jan. 21 that claimed the lives of five of her siblings.
The other children killed in the fire were Demetis, 10; Davida, 9; Deontay, 5; D’Angelo, 4; and Faith Smith, 17 months.
South Bend home in fire that killed 6 had recently failed federal safety inspection
The director of South Bend's public housing authority has raised concerns about a house that burned down Sunday, killing five children that day and a sixth child on Friday, because the home had failed a safety inspection just six months before.
When was South Bend's deadliest residential fire? It looks like 1929.
In his 37 years with the South Bend Fire Department, Chief Carl Buchanon said Monday, the fire at 222 N. LaPorte Ave. on Sunday, Jan. 21 that killed five children was the deadliest he had seen.
House fires can be mitigated with a safety plan, detectors
House fires have been falling for decades thanks to safer heating, higher building standards and a multitude of safety devices.
But even so, home structure fires still killed 2,710 people in 2022 and caused $10.5 billion in direct property damage, according to statistics from the National Fire Prevention Association.
B100 hosts donation drive to help family after deadly house fire
Radio station B100 will host a donation drive to support the two survivors of the deadly house fire that claimed five children’s lives. Donations will be collected from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 27 at South Bend First Church of the Nazarene, 51690 N. Ironwood Drive.
Child victims in fatal LaPorte Avenue house fire named
Five young lives, taken Sunday night by a brutal fire, have been identified by the South Bend Fire Department.
A residential home at 222 N. LaPorte Ave. caught fire Jan. 21, killing two girls, 9-year-old Davida Smith and 17-month-old Faith Smith, as well as three boys, identified as 10-year-old Demetis Smith, 5-year-old Deontay Smith and 4-year-old D’Angelo Smith.
Community, schools and Red Cross respond to support family after deadly blaze
Less than three months ago, at the end of October, Elijah Luciano shared an urgent plea on Facebook to help a single father who had just moved into a nearby home at 222 N. LaPorte Ave., on South Bend’s near west side.
The man had come from Iowa and needed all the household essentials he could get for his six kids in the home, Luciano told The Tribune on Tuesday. Luciano helped to fill the family’s kitchen with food and the bathrooms with toiletries. A self-employed contractor, he paid the man to work for him now and again.
Fire survivor in 'critical condition' at Riley Children's hospital
The 11-year-old survivor from a fatal residential fire is in critical condition, according to Courtney Taylor, the senior public relations associate at Indiana University Health’s Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis.
State to help South Bend investigate the city's largest fatality fire in at least 37 years
Sunday's house fire that killed five children and injured a sixth as well as a firefighter might be the deadliest in the city's history.
"For 37 years, I've been in a lot of incidents," South Bend Fire Department Chief Carl Buchanon said. "We've had some fatalities in the city of South Bend throughout that time, but this, to my knowledge, is the most that we've had."
What we know about Sunday's fatal South Bend fire
Here's what we know about the residential fire Sunday evening that killed five children and hospitalized a sixth.
5 South Bend children die in LaPorte Avenue house fire
Five children died in a residential fire Sunday night, and a sixth was airlifted to a specialized pediatric burn center in Indianapolis for treatment.
In the early evening hours of Jan. 21, the South Bend Fire Department responded to a residential fire at 222 N. LaPorte Ave., near the intersection with Colfax Avenue.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: All The Tribune's coverage of LaPorte Avenue house fire that killed 6
