Inside the gaping hole, bright crumpled clothes, green fuzzy pillows and Hello Kitty posters gave a glimpse into the short lives of Cassandra and Catherine Colón.
But Friday morning as the sun rose over the Pahokee home, all the happy and colorful teen accessories were blanketed in dark soot, evidence of a massive fire and efforts to save the girls that fell short.
Investigators say an overheated electric extension cord caused a fire that led to the twins’ deaths and sent their mother, Susan Robertson, to the hospital early Friday. Though the teenagers did not suffer burns, they died from smoke inhalation, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Sam Haubert.
Robertson remained at Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade Friday evening, but is expected to leave today with her older brother, Gary, who lives in the Pompano Beach area, according to family friend Thomas Burton.
Around 4 a.m., Burton got a call from Gary, his business partner and the girls’ uncle, telling him something terrible happened, so he headed from his West Palm Beach home to Pahokee. Knowing the family for more than 50 years, Burton said the girls were Robertson’s world and she did everything for them.
“It’s going to be a tough road ahead for her, but she’s a strong woman,” he said.
“It’s hard to believe,” he said, looking at the charred remains of the family’s home. “I had to come down to see it.”
Just before 1 a.m., fire-rescue crews were called to the 2800 block of east Main Street in the Ushers Trailer Park. Robertson originally tried to get the girls out herself, according to neighbors, but when she realized she couldn’t she went door to door screaming for help. As neighbors attempted to break the girls’ bedroom window open, someone else called authorities.
When firefighters arrived, they found Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies attempting to pull one girl through the front window. As they pulled her out, crews made their way into the smoke-filled home and found her sister unconscious in the hallway, according to fire-rescue officials.
A smoke detector was in the home, but no battery was found inside, Haubert said.
Only a month ago, a South Bay resident died when a dryer caught fire in a trailer with a faulty smoke alarm. So today, fire rescue plans to distribute and install smoke detectors in Pahokee and South Bay homes.
But the efforts can’t undo Friday’s heartache that sent Pahokee Mayor Colin Walkes to the home before dawn to speak to reporters gathered there. He said he’d been to see the mother in the hospital to share news of her daughters.
“I prayed with the mom, let her know we’re here for her as a community,” he said.
Grief counselors spent the day at Pahokee Middle Senior High School where the girls were students. Friday night’s prom was postponed until next week as well.
“We are devastated by this unthinkable loss. Everyone here at Pahokee Middle School is affected by this horrible tragedy,” Principal Michael Aronson said Friday afternoon outside the school.
He planned to visit Robertson at the hospital.
The girls were the center of near-tragedy about a decade ago, when Cassandra, then 4, was run over by a car and miraculously survived.
Neighbors and friends say Robertson raised two nice and respectful girls.
Erica Jimenez, 22, whose family lives in the same Pahokee trailer park, said she remembers neighbors pulling together to help care for the twins as their mother worked. She said as they grew up they were just quiet and sweet girls.
“It’s sad,” Jimenez said. “They came in this world together, and they left together.”
hwinston@pbpost.com Twitter: @hannahwinston
