Massachusetts middle school student killed in tragic house fire identified
MIDDLEBORO - The 12-year-old girl killed Saturday in a house fire in Middleboro has been identified as Jasmine Lane, a middle school student.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz officially released the girl's name Monday afternoon.
Lane was a student at Nichols Middle School in Middleboro, which re-opened Monday after February break. Grief counselors were at the school Monday to provide support for Lane's classmates.
Middleboro "shocked and saddened"
She died in a fire at her home on Pearl Street early Saturday morning.
A 61-year-old woman was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious burns. A 59-year-old man and another child were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment, Cruz said.
"This unforeseen event has left us all shocked and saddened," Middleboro Superintendent Carolyn Lyons said in a letter to families.
"This profound loss impacts not just our Nichols Middle School community but also the Burkland Elementary School and Middleborough High School communities where family members attend. We extend our deepest condolences to our student's family and friends as they navigate this extremely tough time."
Parents away at time of fire
Wendy Wyman owns the house and has been the family's landlord for ten years. She told WBZ-TV the young girl's parents were away at the time of the fire.
"I feel so heartbroken for everybody," Wyman said, adding that she started a GoFundMe for the family.
"She was always smiling," Wyman said of the young girl. "My grandkids live on the same property and any time I went to the house for something and she answered the door, she'd yell out, 'Mom, it's the landlord!'"
Neighbor Maria Tremouliaris is one of several people to leave flowers outside the burned out home.
"I wanted to bring the flowers just because flowers usually bring a little bit of joy to somebody," she told reporters Monday.
Tremouliaris has lived on Pearl Street for more than 20 years. She believes the young girl had three siblings.
"They run up and down the street on their bikes. They have kids that they play with at the corner," she said.
It's still not clear yet how or where the fire started.
