Family: Heroic efforts failed to save girl from fire; preschooler remembered as cheerful, sweet | Crime/Police

A teenager was unable to save her 5-year-old sister from their burning apartment Tuesday night when roaring flames turned the apartment into an inferno, making it impossible to get to the second-floor where the child was watching television, officials said.

East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. "Beau" Clark identified the girl as Treasure Garner, although her family says her last name is Hadley. She died in the fire at the Cedarwood Apartments on Cedarcrest Avenue. The fire started around 7 p.m. and burned for more than three hours, spreading to more than 10 apartments before firefighters could bring it under control.

Treasure's 18-year-old sister had earlier helped the child get ready for bed, then turned on a television on the second floor of the apartment for the little girl to watch while the teen went to the first-floor kitchen to prepare dinner, said Brant Thompson, chief deputy of the State Fire Marshal's Office, according to accounts gathered by the Fire Marshal's and Baton Rouge Fire Department investigators.

Just the two girls were home at the time of the fire, he said.  

The teenager, who has not been identified, said she put grease in a pot on the stove to heat up for some chicken she planned to cook, Thompson said, and left it there while she took out the trash to the ground floor. Their family's two-story apartment is on the second-level of the complex.

When the teen returned to the apartment, she was met by heavy smoke in the doorway and shooting flames in the kitchen as the fire quickly spread, Thompson said.

"She was hollering, trying to get through, but she couldn't," said Willie Garner, 61, the girls' grandfather, of the teen's efforts to save her sister.

Richard Magitt, 32, a neighbor, was walking by the apartment and saw smoke coming from the upstairs apartment. He said he yelled for his son to grab their fire extinguisher.

"It happened so fast," Magitt said.

Magitt and the teenage sister went back to the apartment, but he said the fire pushed them back. Magitt said he busted open the door, but the flames engulfed the doorway almost immediately.

"It was like an inferno after that," Magitt said.

Another neighbor climbed up onto the balcony, but the same thing happened when the man opened that door, Magitt said. The man was forced to quickly jump down for his safety.

"It just wasn't enough," Magitt said. "Even the fire extinguisher wouldn't have worked."

Magitt's wife, Shamyra Magitt, said she knew the little girl. She remembered how Treasure would always say "good morning" cheerfully to her and other neighbors.

"She was one of the sweetest girls you ever want to meet," Shamyra Magitt said. "A beautiful baby … It's so sad."

Last updated 6:15 a.m. Wednesday

Treasure was in preschool, and her grandfather remembered how she was a fast learner growing up.

"She was a smart kid, a good little kid. Everybody loved her,"  Willie Garner said. "She was precious. She was so precious."

A memorial for the 5-year-old was created Wednesday across from her family's apartment, adorned with a balloon, flowers and stuffed animals.

At least 24 apartments were damaged by the fire, smoke, and water used to put out the blaze, according to the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross continued Wednesday to provide assistance to the residents affected based on their health, housing, and basic needs. The organization set up a shelter at BREC's Kernan Avenue Recreation Center with cots, food and water Tuesday night and it will remain open Wednesday night, spokeswoman Nancy Malone said. Ten people stayed in the shelter Tuesday night, she said. 

The owner of the Cedarwood Apartments said he had about seven open apartments Wednesday morning that he planned to use to accommodate some fire victims, but it won't be enough, he said.

Tomeka Brown, 31, and her family stayed in a hotel Tuesday night because of the smoke damage to her apartment, but she expected they would soon take advantage of the Red Cross shelter. Their apartment was just two doors away from where the fire started.

Brown came back Wednesday morning to retrieve some of her family's items, but found most everything was too damaged to salvage, she said, as she wore a breathing mask she bought at the Dollar Tree.

"The smoke was just so bad," Brown said. "We just ended up throwing (all the clothes) away … everything is black in there."

Her three children, ages 6, 7 and 12, were home with her when the fire started, Brown said. They were all able to escape, but without shoes or any belongings. Brown salvaged their backpacks for school Wednesday morning. 

Another displaced resident, Florence Wasike, originally from Kenya, is worried because her green card and immigration papers were damaged from the water and smoke, she said.

"I am praying they will be replaced," Wasike said.

Brown's family was able to recover their birth certificates from the apartment, though a little smokey, she said.

"I'm just glad we're still here," Brown said. "One day at a time."

Cooking fires, whether from a malfunction or inattention, are the number one cause of fires in a residence, said Baton Rouge Fire Department spokesman Curt Monte.  

"Once (a fire) gets going, a room can be consumed in a matter of seconds with the proper factors," Monte said. "Make your home fire safe."

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