KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) — A 12-year-old girl and 19-year-old woman were killed in an early Monday morning house fire in Kentwood.
Kent County dispatchers confirmed to News 8 that authorities were called around 3:30 a.m. Monday for a report of a fire at a house on 48th Street between Division and Eastern avenues. According to Kentwood Fire Chief Brent Looman there were eight people inside at the time of the fire.
The 12-year-old and 19-year-old were pronounced dead at the scene, the Kentwood Police Department said. A family friend identified them as Ashlee Duran, 12, and Nety Chavez, 19.
Chavez had recently come to Michigan from Mexico to visit family, the family friend said.
The family will be holding a vigil for Duran and Chavez at the house at 7 p.m. Tuesday. A GoFundMe has been set up for funeral expenses.
It’s unknown if the other six people who escaped the fire were injured.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Kentwood police detective bureau at 616.656.6604 or Silent Observer at 616.774.2345.
— News 8’s Madalyn Buursma contributed to this report.