FIRE: FIVE KILLED IN BLAZE AT SIKESTON

SIKESTON -- A Sikeston woman and four of her children died early Thursday in a house fire that officials here called the "worst fire tragedy" in years.

Patrice Jefferson, 30, of 403 Dorothy Street was pronounced dead at the scene after Sikeston Department of Public Safety Fire Division officers pulled her from the burning structure shortly after midnight.

Also killed in the fire were: Roy Oatis Portwood, 9; Lathreta Portwood, 7; Derick Jefferson, 6; and Carnail Jefferson, 4.

"It's the worst fire tragedy I've seen since I've been sheriff," said Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell, who served as acting coroner at the scene. "It was a terrible sight to behold. I'm sure it was terrible for the family members there. It was very emotional for everybody."

The fire was ruled accidental, caused by an electrical problem in the home, said the fire marshal's report.

Apparently the mother awoke to find the house thick with smoke, Ferrell said. "She had a chance to get out, but she went back in for the children and died," he said.

Two others escaped the house: a son, Jerry Damon Bond, 14, and the mother's boyfriend, Kevin Lee Session, 21, of Sikeston. A sixth child, Jumecka Phillips, 15, was spending the night at her grandparents' house across the street.

When firefighters arrived at the scene just before midnight Wednesday, about one-third of the ground floor and two-thirds of the attic were ablaze.

Firefighters were able to remove the woman's body before extreme heat and the collapse of the home's roof kept them from finding the children, said fire officials.

Once the fire was contained, the bodies of the four children were found amid the rubble.

Fire Marshal James "Butch" Amann said that when Session and the mother discovered the fire, Session went outside to the rear of the house where the children were sleeping and broke some windows in an attempt to wake them. When that failed, he went to a neighbor's and called 911.

The mother, who re-entered the house to get the children, never made it back out. Amann said her body was found just inside the front door.

He said all four children were found in a back bedroom, with two of the bodies found in what had been a closet. "It's real common that kids try to hide when something like this happens," Amann said.

There were no smoke alarms in the house, and Ferrell said that could have made a difference.

"There was a lot of smoke in the house for quite a while before she woke up and realized the house was already in flames," said Ferrell. "Smoke detectors probably would have saved their lives."

Amann echoed Ferrell's remarks: "There is no doubt in my mind that working smoke detectors would have made all the difference in the world here," he said. "It was a preventable tragedy."

The fire marshal said the boyfried told officials there was a smoke detector outside the children's bedroom, but that the battery had run down and hadn't been replaced.

(Some information for this story was provided by the Sikeston Daily Standard newspaper.)