NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – As the Hilliard community grieves the loss of a mother and two young children who died after their home caught fire early Thursday morning, her family and investigators are looking for answers.
The fire started around 3:30 a.m. in the western portion of Nassau County roughly three miles from the state line. Now county and state fire investigators and federal agents are working to learn how it happened.
Family members identified the woman as Lesley Moore – and her two kids, ages 11 and 7 – both attended Hilliard Elementary School.
Grief counselors and more social workers were at the school on Friday to provide support for the students and staff there.
Nassau County schools issued a statement after the tragedy:
“Additional school social workers respond to the school along with the assigned school based social worker. They provide grief counseling and assess the needs of the students, staff, and families. They provide comfort and a safe space to for students and staff to share their feelings surrounding the critical event. They also provide connections with outside resources for families and staff to access. Additional school social workers follow up over the course of several days. The students, staff, and families are encouraged to reach out to the school-based provider if they are in need of additional resources as well.”
Investigators sifted through the pile of ash, rubble and debris on Jane Lane that was once the family’s double-wide trailer home Friday, bringing in a Bobcat loader and several CSI units.
Moore’s family was also given access to the property on Friday after investigators cleared the scene.
Moore’s uncle, Mitchell Tanner, came to the devastating scene on Thursday and said he is trying to make sense of all of this.
“I don’t understand it. I’m lost. I’m hurt,” Tanner said. “Something’s not right. You don’t sleep through all that. One of them is going to wake up. I want to know why they didn’t wake up.”
A neighbor who called 911 in a panic was the first to report the fire.
“The whole trailer’s on fire now and I’m not in...And her truck is still there and they must have been in and I don’t know, I don’t know,” the caller said.
“You think they’re all still in the house?” the 911 operator said.
“Yes, but it’s too late,” the neighbor responded.
That devastating theory was confirmed later when firefighters uncovered the remains of the mother and two children.
“We didn’t know at first if anyone was inside the structure but later determined we did find three bodies,” Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said.
Federal agencies, including ATF, are working with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and the state fire marshal to determine the cause of the fire.
Accounts from neighbors described a loud “boom” sound before the fire and the 911 calls point to a possible explosion of some kind.
“I just heard some pop in and I looked over there and there’s three people there and some dogs I don’t know,” the neighbor said.
Until more is uncovered, Tanner and the rest of the community are left wondering.
“How does it burn to the frame before the fire department or anything can get here?” Tanner said.
“Nassau County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Nassau County Fire Department responded. When they arrived, the structure was fully ablaze and they tried to put the fire out, but it was totally destroyed,” Leeper said. “The structure is totally destroyed all the way down to the beams. There’s really nothing left.”
Leeper said it’s unclear exactly where the mother and children were found in the home but they were not found together.
Leeper said the father was out of town at the time. He was notified Thursday and headed home.
“Just a sad situation,” Leeper said. “We see these things sometimes when the temperatures drop certainly, but that’s not to say the cause. We’re trying to determine that. The fire marshal will figure that out. Just a reminder to be careful when you run heaters.”