More questions answered in deadly Bemis house fire

JACKSON, Tenn. — A memorial of flowers sits in front of what’s left of 214 B Street in the Bemis community where three people lost their lives in a Wednesday morning fire.

“I came right over here as soon as I got off of work and I couldn’t believe the condition of the house,” family friend Favian Gonsalez said Thursday. “I couldn’t believe it.”

By law, rental property is require to have working smoke detectors.

We reached out to the property’s owner to see if they had them in the home and whether or not they were working.

When WBBJ went to the owner’s home, we were asked to leave, so we asked their insurance adjuster if they could comment but have not received a reply.

“At this time, we have not found any smoke detectors present in the home,” Fire Marshal for the Jackson Fire Department Lamar Childress said. “That’s your early warning signs — audible warning signs there’s a problem in the home and there may be a fire. So it was, in my opinion, a very important factor.”

Authorities said the owner is cooperating with the investigation.

Crews returned to the home Thursday and say they have a better idea of how the fire started.

“We have determined that the fire started in the kitchen area near the stove, and the property has been sealed and secured right now for appliances in that area to be examined by an engineer at a later date,” Childress said.

Meanwhile, those who were lost in the fire are being remembered.

“They were dependable and they were always there for each other,” Gonsalez said. “If there was ever a definition of a family unit, they were it. They were there for each other.”

Fire officials said the 32-year-old remains hospitalized in Memphis but is expected to be released in the next few days.

Officials said the 17-year-old who was airlifted suffered life-threatening burns. They have not yet made public the names of the three people who died.