KENTWOOD, Mich. — It’s been a devastating week for a family in Kentwood after two teenage girls lost their lives in a house fire early Monday morning.
READ MORE: 12-year-old, 19-year-old killed in Kentwood house fire
Family members identified the girls as 12-year-old Ashlee Duran and 19-year-old Ernestina “Nety” Chavez.
FOX 17 talked with Roberto Sales-Rivera, Ashlee’s brother and Nety’s cousin, who said they were both sweet girls who did not deserve what happened to them.
“They shot two birds with one stone, you know? They are just trying to heal right now. It’s hard to accept. It’s hard because, I don’t know…they didn’t deserve it,” Sales-Rivera told FOX 17. "We're in the process of healing, keeping our head up because that's what they would want."
He says Nety recently came from Mexico to stay with his family.
"She's only been with us for a couple months," said Sales-Rivera. "She was a sweet girl. Always in her own lane. She had a heart."
He also described Ashlee as a talented artist who loved the color purple.
"Always smiling. She was an angel," Sales-Rivera said. "She was Ashlee. She had a sense of humor."
Sales-Rivera says several other family members, including himself, experienced the fire that day too. He tried to rescue whomever he could.
“I heard my mom crying for my sis… I ran from the sidewalk to the back, jumped on the roof,” said Sales-Rivera. “My brother was stuck in there too — He was the first one I pulled out. He was weak already. By the time, I was calling her name, reaching my hand in there, the fire was already in my face, burning my hair. I couldn’t take the smoke and I had to jump off.”
The Kentwood Fire Department tells FOX 17 investigators believe the fire was accidental.
READ MORE: KCSO body cam video shows rescue efforts during deadly house fire
Ashlee and Nety’s family started a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of the girls’ funerals.
The family also lost all of their personal belongings in the fire. They need the following items:
- Food
- Water
- Gift cards
- Baby items
- Baby girl clothes— 0-3 months
- Girls' clothes— 7t/8t
- Boys' clothes— Large
- Women's clothes— Medium, Large and 2XL
- Men's clothes— Medium, XL and 2XL
If you're able to donate any of these items to the family, contact the GoFundMe organizer for information about where to drop off donations.
