An inexpensive halogen lamp was the cause of a fire that killed two 4-year-old girls Friday in Mount Auburn, fire investigators have found.
A short circuit in the lamp cord ignited the carpet in a third-floor bedroom, said Capt. Lacey Calloway, commander of Cincinnati's fire investigation unit.
Half-sisters Dyamonique Taylor and Aynessia Toney were alone in the apartment as their father, Pearce Toney, talked with neighbors about getting a maintenance job.
The girls apparently opened the bedroom door to check on their kitten, Boone. In the panic of heat and smoke, they fled to the bedroom of Dyamonique's mother, where they were found on the floor between a bed and a wall. They died of smoke inhalation.
Police have charged their 24-year-old father with involuntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty. A grand jury's decision on whether to indict him is expected by next week.
Mr. Toney was watching the girls Friday while Aynessia's mother, Charlene Hargrove, attended vocational school and Dyamonique's mother, Michelle Taylor, interviewed for a salesclerk's position. Mr. Toney's lapse in judgment came as he was trying to do the right thing: provide for his family, said his brother, George Toney.
''Everyone has run downstairs for a couple minutes to take the laundry out of the dryer,'' he said.
But the fire probably was going for 25 to 30 minutes before neighbors called 911, Capt. Calloway said.
There is no excuse for leaving young children alone, said Cincinnati police Sgt. Tom Lanter.
''In my opinion, he should have been more attentive,'' Sgt. Lanter said. ''Our voice is for the children who can't speak for themselves, and that's why we filed the charges.''
The family, meanwhile, is left to grieve and to deal with the legalities.
''The only thing that makes any sense to us is that we can trust the girls are with the Lord,'' George Toney said.
To offset expenses for the girls' funeral, at 7 p.m. Wednesday at New Unity Baptist Church in Mount Auburn, memorials may be sent to any Star Bank in the names of Dyamonique Taylor and Aynessia Toney.
