Travis Davis says he can’t get the screams of the three children who died in Sunday’s house fire in Walkerswood, St Ann, out of his head.

“It’s like I can still hear the pickney dem inna mi head a scream, and it mess me up,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

The early morning blaze that claimed the lives of seven-year-old Tashawna Mattis, four-year-old Tashawnie Mattis, and two-year-old Tavano Mattis was particularly heartbreaking for Davis who shared that he is the father of a five-year-old.

But Davis, who said he was driving through the community, on his way to St Mary, when he saw the house ablaze, could only stand and listen as the siblings’ screams pierced the early morning silence, then stopped after the roof collapsed.

According to Davis, the first sign he got of the fire was a very bright light in the distance. When he got closer to the location he realised that a house was ablaze. He said that before he exited his vehicle he called the police. That was about 2:20 am.

He showed the Observer his phone and indicated that he called the police a second time, adding that firefighters arrived at the scene sometime after 3:00 am.

“I saw a man walking and I asked him if he didn’t see the house a burn down. I asked him if anybody was in there and he said that it was a house that people live in. Same time I started to bawl out and say, ‘Fire! fire!’. I wasn’t really seeing anybody come out. I told the man to let us go up there and he said he was afraid. The fire was blazing and I saw a lady run out of her house and bawl out. I asked her where I could walk to go up there, but she was panicking and didn’t answer me. I decided to shot it through the bush and come up,” Davis related.

“I was afraid because I don’t know the community; a pass mi a pass through. I went up there and heard the children bawling and could not do anything,” he lamented.

He said he heard what sounded like an explosion inside the house. “That was when the roof caved in and the screaming stopped. I just had to watch and couldn’t do anything because the next man was saying not to try and go in there,” Davis said. “I wanted to try and go in because those children are babies.”

Hours after the fire was put out a pall of gloom and anger hung over the community.

The anger stemmed from residents’ belief that the children were left unattended, allegedly by their mother, who, the Observer was told, had been taken into police custody.

According to the residents, the children were left in the two-bedroom house with their grandmother, but she isn’t agile enough to do much for herself and the children.

The grandmother and another sibling of the three deceased children managed to escape the burning house through a back door.

It is alleged that there was no electricity at the house and that a burning candle may have been the cause of the tragedy.

A cousin of the children’s mother, standing in front of a shop with other residents, was heard venting anger at her at the top of his voice.

The children’s father, Odane Mattis, was a picture of devastation.

Stooping with his head in both hands he said he was unable to describe how he was feeling.

“How I feel is indescribable. I don’t know what to tell you. All they had to do was send the children come to me. Mi can’t explain and tell you what happened because a nuh the same yard we live inna. The yard is the kids dem mother yard,” said Mattis, who explained that he lives nearby and, had he known the mother was leaving for the night he would have gone for his children.

“I can’t give you a full disclosure because I was in my bed after mi come off from work. I don’t even know when I fell asleep. A people come call me and tell me seh the house burn down and kill mi youth dem,” he lamented.

“Their mother left them inside the house. I can’t even say she left them with her mother because her mother can’t even help herself, so she basically left them by themselves,” he charged.

“She left the seven-year-old responsible for the others. She coulda tell me to go for them. Only one out a mi four pickney left back, and him gone with him aunty because him traumatised. He didn’t get any burns because the grandmother slept with him in her bed and brought around the other three to the other room because she said dem dem sleep bad,” the father told the Observer.

Reacting to the tragedy, Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern Lisa Hanna, who is overseas, said she was devastated and grappling with profound sorrow.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy that weighs heavily on our community. It is incredibly painful to come to terms with the loss of these innocent lives. My sincere sympathies, thoughts, and prayers are with the families affected during this unfathomably difficult time. I wish we could have been there to help them find safety and I want to extend my gratitude to the community members and firefighters who did everything within their power under such challenging circumstances,” Hanna said.

She said this was the second tragic fire in the constituency in recent times, recalling the previous incident in Claremont.

In that fire, last September, 51-year-old truck driver Norman Haye died on his verandah as efforts to rescue him failed because the key to unlock the grill could not be found.

Hanna emphasised the importance of community unity, urging everyone to come together and support one another in this time of need.

She reassured residents that the constituency’s leadership stands united and is committed to helping the bereaved family navigate this difficult journey.

A similar sentiment was expressed by Matthew Samuda, the Member of Parliament for the neighbouring constituency of St Ann North Eastern.

He said he had been in contact with Prime Minister Andrew Holness, MP Hanna, Education and Information Minister Senator Dana Morris-Dixon, adding that all the arms of the State that can provide assistance are already mobilised.

“But now we are focused, with the councillor for the area and the mayor, on providing emotional support to the community,” he said, adding that although the razed house is in the south-east side of the political boundary, the children attended school on the north-east side.

“In times of tragedy like this we have to come together to provide support for the community,” Samuda said.

Senator Morris-Dixon said the Government stands ready to provide “all the necessary support to the community at this painful time and will work diligently alongside local authorities to ensure a thorough investigation is conducted and that the family and community receive every resource they need as they begin to heal”.

The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), in its statement, appealed to “parents and guardians to prioritise vigilance in safeguarding children and to adopt fire safety measures at home”.

“It is crucial that parents create and implement a home fire safety plan and then rehearse it with their children,” the CPFSA said. “Everyone in the home, especially children, should understand what to do in case of a fire. Teach them to recognise the smell of smoke, to call for help, and to head for the nearest exit. Fires often spread rapidly and can overwhelm even adults. By preparing ahead we can help reduce the likelihood of these devastating events in future.”

The agency said its first responders went to the scene to assess the situation and provide on-spot grief counselling for the surviving family members as well as to identify any other children who may now require care and to offer support such as food, clothing and assistance in replacing essential documents.

The CPFSA also said that a team from the education ministry will visit the children’s school today to offer counselling and emotional support to classmates, teachers, and other members of the school community as they grapple with the tragedy.

Sunday’s tragedy came four days after five-year-old Kimberley Harrison perished in a house fire at Whitehall Avenue in St Andrew.

Firefighters assess the scene in the aftermath blaze that killed three children at their home in Walkerswood, St Ann on Sunday. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Odane Mattis, the father of the three children who perished in a house fire on Sunday in Walkerswood St Ann, is a picture of devastation as he reflects on the tragedy. (Garfield Robinson)

This little girl looks at the charred remains of the house in Walkerswood, St Ann, where three children died in a fire on Sunday morning. (Garfield Robinson)

Rajaun Brown is obviously depressed at the loss of his friends in Sunday’s house fire in Walkerswood, St Ann. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

The three victims of Sunday’s fire, Siblings (clockwise from top right) Tavano Mattis, two years old,Tashawine Mattis, four years old and Tashawna Mattis seven years old.

The remains of the house in Walkerswood, St Ann, where three young siblings died in a fire early Sunday morning. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)