Girl, 9, and Grandmother Die After Virginia House Fire: 'My Heart Is in a Million Pieces,' Says Dad
GoFundMe
A young girl and her grandmother died of injuries they sustained during a devastating house fire in Virginia this week, their loved ones said.
According to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, a fire broke out in a single-family home just before 1:44 a.m. on Tuesday in Falls Church. Firefighters removed two people from the structure and transported them to a local hospital, where they both died of their injuries.
Mauricio Arancibia identified the victims as his 9-year-old daughter Kaysie Anne Arancibia, a fourth grader at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School, and her grandmother, 67-year-old Patricia Stoderl, reported CBS affiliate WUSA.
A family dog was also removed from the building and did not survive, the fire department said.
According to WUSA, the fire broke out at the home where the 9-year-old girl lived with her mother and grandmother.
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In an interview with WUSA, Mauricio called his daughter a "happy kid" with a "whole future ahead of her."
"She always used to smile and be playful and it was just a big tragedy what happened," he said. "My soul is broken, my heart is in a million pieces. But her memory is always just embedded in my heart."
Mauricio told DC News Now that he believes his daughter breathed in carbon dioxide when she was asleep, which contributed to her death. "I pray to God in heaven she's looking down," he told the outlet.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said officials were conducting an investigation into the blaze. PEOPLE has reached out to the department for more information.
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A GoFundMe page was started by a friend of Kaycie's mother, Crystal, to collect funds for the family. It has raised over $7,000 as of Thursday afternoon.
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"Kaysie was a 9 year old fun, energetic, funny, smart little girl who passed away way too soon," a description on the page reads. "Crystal's mom [Kaysie's grandmother] Tricia was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. Who always put others needs before her own."
It continued: "Any donations will be appreciated and used to remember the life of Tricia and Kaysie."
