HOUSTON – A mother’s world was destroyed after her three young daughters died in a fire at their southwest Houston condo.
Loved ones left balloons and candles for the girls outside what used to be their home.
Evelen Zelaya lit candles for her three daughters, 8-year-old Ana Melara Zelaya, 15-year-old Evelyn Melara Zelaya, and 12-year-old Julissa Melara Zelaya.
The Houston Fire Department said the fire started around 5:45 am at the Monterra Condominiums off Albacore and Bissonnet.
Video from inside the home shows the crumbled condo covered in black soot after the devastating fire that killed Zelaya’s three girls.
Zelaya spoke to KPRC 2 in Spanish and said the pain she feels is hard to explain.
She left for work around 5 a.m. Sunday. Several minutes later, she got a call saying her condo was on fire.
Firefighters showed up after a passerby called 911. Zelaya’s 21-year-old son made it out of the burning home.
“He says that he tried to go in several times,” said family member Paola Melara.
Loved ones say someone held him back from going inside to rescue his sisters.
Zelaya says she doesn’t know how the fire started. Arson investigators are working to figure that out.
Zelaya says her girls were smart, beautiful and always happy. She will miss them, but says she knows they are in heaven.
Zelaya says she has friends and family helping her. A local store called Diamond Store is helping raise cash donations for the family. The store is located at 6631 Bissonnet.
The Houston Fire Department says the cause of the deadly fire is still under investigation.