NEWS STAR
By Robbie Evans • revans@thenewsstar.com • October 15, 2008
An early morning house fire in Oak Grove on Tuesday left three siblings dead and the small town mourning their loss.
The mother, Linda Christmas, and another sibling were able to escape the fire. They were taken to West Carroll Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation, according to Ric Abbott, an investigator with the State Fire Marshal's Office.
Abbott said the blaze is under investigation by his office, state police and local authorities, and no conclusion has been reached as to whether arson might be the cause.
Oak Grove volunteer fire chief Merle Sistrunk said the department received the alarm at 3:06 a.m. and responded to 218 Bonaire Drive, near Louisiana 17 in the northern part of town.
"When we got there, we basically had one house fully (on fire) and another caught ablaze from that fire," Sistrunk said. "The houses were real close together, and there was a car sitting between them. I feel like when the car caught on fire, the fire may have spread."
Sistrunk said volunteer fire departments from Kilbourne, Concord, Fiske Union and Forest responded with fire trucks and personnel.
"We were able to bring the fire under control in about an hour-and-a-half," Sistrunk said. "It was around 8 a.m. before we completed the process of cleanup and recovery."
Derrick Davis was a junior at Oak Grove High School, and Devin Christmas attended the Head Start program in Oak Grove. No further information was available on Tiffany Davis.
Students at Oak Grove High School were mourning the loss of their classmate and football teammate, said West Carroll Parish Superintendent Kent Davis. Counselors have been sent to the school to assist students through the grieving process, Davis said.
"It's very somber," Davis said. " From all accounts I've heard, he was a very cooperative, responsible young man. Everyone around the school speaks very highly of him. He was easy going, and he had a great deal of potential."
Davis joined the football team for his junior season this year and made a quick impact.
Quarterback Jimmy Pepmiller brought coach Vic Dalrymple a picture of Davis, a wide receiver, Tuesday afternoon after hearing the news. The picture was taken after Davis caught his first touchdown pass in the season jamboree.
"He's the only guy I've ever known that the first time he put on a football uniform, he caught a touchdown pass," Dalrymple said.
"Anytime you lose a youngster like that, you can't put it into words. He's a real good guy to be around. It's tough on the kids."
The high school had a high number of absences Tuesday, Davis said.
"The students are doing as well as can be expected," Davis said. "Many of the kids were not there today."
Teachers and staff members of the Head Start program in which Devin attended were devastated by the news of the 4-year-old's death. Devin's teacher Valencia Reese said students were aware that Devin didn't attend the program Tuesday but didn't know why he wasn't there.
Reese described Devin, is his first year in the program, as a happy-go-lucky child who was independent and "just starting to come out of his shell."
"I couldn't bring myself to tell them, but they knew something was wrong because my eyes were red from crying all day," Reese said. "They know he wasn't here today, but they don't know that he passed on.
"I'm going to tell them (today). It's been hard on the whole school."
