GREENSBORO, N.C. — Neighbors near a deadly house fire that killed three children recounted the moment they saw the blaze Monday.
The Greensboro Fire Department said all of the children killed in the fire on Grimsley Street were under the age of five years old.
Investigators still do not know what started the fire. The street reopened late into the evening Monday after being closed all day.
The Nguyen family recorded a video of the fire shortly before firefighters arrived. 13-year-old Danny Nguyen lives behind the home that caught fire and was getting ready for school when he saw it.
"I looked outside from the bathroom window and I saw fire and it was all smoking," Nguyen said.
He quickly called 911.
"I told him the address and everything and I saw, the fire and parts flying off the house and falling down burning up the grass around it," Nguyen said. "I was a bit scared at first but I knew that the fire department might be able to handle this and everything would turn out OK."
The Greensboro Fire Department responded just before 8 a.m. Firefighters put the flames out in minutes but could not save the three children inside.
Deputy Chief Dwayne Church said their mother was taken to Cone Health but is expected to recover.
"This is devastating for these firefighters, devastating for this community, and devastating for this family," Church said.
Nguyen learned the details after getting home from school.
"It was sad really," Nguyen said. "It's just really out of the ordinary for me to see that on a random Monday morning."
He, like many of his neighbors, is left with questions about the cause of the fire.
As of Tuesday, the Church said the cause of the fire was still under investigation. He said a document from the landlord shows that smoke alarms were installed in the home in 2018.