ATASCOSA, Texas — Raymond Llamas recalls tucking his 4-year-old daughter into bed Saturday night just hours before tragedy struck.
“I tell her that I loved her and that I missed her and I was expecting to see her in the morning. I never saw her,” Llamas said.
Firefighters recovered the body of 4-year-old Azariah Llamas on Sunday morning once it was safe to enter the gutted mobile home in southwest Bexar County.
Llamas and his wife survived the fire, although hospitalized for severe burn injuries.
Llamas said he woke up to intense heat and smoke, realizing how fast the fire was spreading throughout the home. He said a wall of fire touching the ceiling created an impassable barrier in order to reach Azariah who was in the living room.
“I yelled for my daughter and I yelled and yelled and yelled and I couldn’t hear her response,” Llamas said.
Unable to rescue Azariah, Llamas and his wife evacuated the fiery home through a punched-out window.
Azariah’s grandmother, Bernadina Llamas, who lives right next door, felt helpless as crews halted rescue operations due to the fire’s intensity. Bernadina remembers hearing Azariah, who remained inside the home.
"I call her name and the only words she said were 'uh, uh.'"
Llamas said the home had at least two electric heaters with one of the device’s in the living room where Azariah was sleeping.
“I know there was a heater right next to her. I think maybe she moved the heater when she woke up ...maybe at the time I didn’t see it,” Llamas said.
The Llamas family looked forward to celebrating Azariah’s fifth birthday by eating pizza, or any other food of her choosing.
Neighbors and family friends have began to express support for the Llamas' as they begin their road to healing.
The Bexar County Fire Marshal and Bexar County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident and no cause has been determined at this time.