Fire Dept.: Fire That Killed 2 Boys Appears To Be An Accident

A preliminary investigation into a fire that killed two boys and left their father badly burned has revealed it was accidental in nature, according to El Paso Fire Dept. officials.

The fire happened in the early morning hours of April 11 at the Krupp Memorial Housing Complex in east El Paso. Neighbors said Gilbert Sifuentes Sr. ran out of his apartments during the blaze, but ran back inside when he realized that only his six-year-old son had managed to get out safely.

Sifuentes Sr. managed to get his two other sons, five-year-old Gibran and nine-year-old Gerardo, out of the fire. However, he collapsed before realizing that his boys had died of smoke inhalation.

The Sifuentes and his wife had another son, who is 13 years old. He was living in Juarez with her at the time of the fire.