MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A University of Memphis student and her two young nieces were killed in a house fire late last night in Midtown.
Family members say 25-year-old Crystal Rogers and the children, 5 and 7 years old, were the only ones in the home in the 1700 block of Nelson.
Neighbors say they saw the flames and heard the children yelling for help, but could not get inside.
Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control in about 16 minutes and found the woman and children inside suffering from smoke inhalation. They later at died at the hospital.
Crystal’s father and brother were at the home early Thursday morning to get a look at the damage.
They said there was fire damage all around Crystal’s bed in a room in the middle of the home. The little girls were sleeping in the living room at the front of the house.
“I have no words to describe what I am feeling right now because I lost my baby. I mean it’s hard to explain or what I’m feeling,” Christopher Watkins said.
Watkins said his daughter Crystal was attending the University of Memphis and was in her final year.
Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.
Family members said they believe a lamp in the living room caused the fire.
