EMT responding to fatal house fire learns her 4-year-old daughter is one of the victims
LEBANON, Pa. (WGAL) - Five people celebrating a birthday died in a Pennsylvania house fire, including a 4-year-old girl whose mother was among the first responders called to the scene.
When a call for a house fire in Lebanon County came in around 8:45 a.m. Sunday, First Aid & Safety Patrol were the first ambulance units called out. One of the EMTs, Azelyn Arenas, arrived to find her 4-year-old daughter, Veyda Pereyra, among the fire’s victims.
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“This is horrible. This is our worst nightmare,” said Gregg Smith, executive director of First Aid & Safety Patrol. “I’ve never seen such a tragedy. When you take an employee, a first responder, that has to respond to their own child, words can’t describe the nightmare scenario this truly is.”
Veyda was being watched by 73-year-old Josefina Estevez while her mother was at work. They are both among the five people who died in the fire, which officials say started while 10 people were in the home for a birthday celebration.
The other victims of the fire were identified as 1-year-old Amarri Morris Rodriguez, 17-year-old Jaeden Nunez and 23-year-old Tailing Nunez.
Two more people remain hospitalized, one in critical condition.
A GoFundMe set up to help Veyda’s family as they mourn has raised nearly $50,000. Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello said Steve Thompson of Thompson Funeral Home has covered the funeral expenses.
“We are all completely shattered. She [Veyda] is the light in every room, our baby, our only child, & we’ll forever miss her,” wrote the family on GoFundMe.
Smith expressed his hope for significant community support, saying, “They’re fiercely private and humble, and they don’t want charity. I want to see that blow up. I want to see hundreds of thousands of dollars for these families.”
Capello says the fire started from an electrical outlet in the first-floor living room and has been ruled an accident.
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