BALTIMORE — An East Baltimore family was gripped by tragedy over the weekend when a house fire ended the life a 5-year-old little boy and sent his twin brother to the hospital.
Some saw what happened first-hand and others only heard about it, but both had an incredible impact on everyone learning about it.
Those living on East Oliver knew both twin brothers by name but sadly one of them will only be known by memory.
"I heard the fire trucks and like a boom. I didn't know what that was," said James Scott.
A tragedy unfolded right across the street from a house of hope Saturday morning leaving a family and their neighbors hopeless.
"I seen the uncle on the ground crying, I see the grandmother across the street," one neighbor shared.
A tricycle, a toy fire truck and stuffed animal were all pulled from the rubble.
They give us a glimpse into the lives of the children who lived here.
"Energetic, curious, all they wanted to do was just come out and play. They were boys not these playstation boys," the neighbor described.
"The kids used to run up and down here playing," said Frank from across the street.
He was sitting in this same spot when the fire broke out close to 11 a.m. Saturday morning.
"I ain't never seen nothing like that before, nothing like that. It made me cry cause I love children," said Frank.
The 5-year-old twin boys were caught in the house fire and paramedics rushed one to the hospital.
"He was burned really bad. You could see that. Cause they had to tote him all the way down there to the ambulance," Frank remembered.
His twin brother didn't make it.
"When they told us that baby died, it's no pain worse than that a 5-year-old," the neighbor expressed.
While a mother prepares to bury a son, a brother loses his twin, neighbors stand in the gap offering sympathy and strength.
"Just be strong. Like in the scripture, sorrow comes for a night but joy comes in the morning. There's something more that's going to come out of this," said Scott.
So far, it's unclear what started the fire.
