Bemidji fire officials are sharing more details about the fatal fire that claimed the lives of two young girls last week in Liberty Township near Bemidji.

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire at the home on Pony Lake Road NW at 6:12 AM on Thursday, December 23. The two children were reported to be trapped in an upstairs bedroom. Firefighters located the bedroom and attempted a rescue but were unable to save the girls.

“Firefighters walked around to the back side of the building located the bedroom which already had a ladder to it,” said Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood. “It’s our belief that family members attempted to do a rescue but were unable to due to the heat and smoke. One of our firefighters … entered the room, did a quick primary search of the room but was unsuccessful in finding anything. With rapidly changing fire conditions, firefighters were forced to leave the building and continue to fight the fire from the exterior.”

Later in the day around 1 PM, the two children were found dead in the home.

According to a post on GoFundMe, five-year-old RaeLynn and six-year-old AceLynn were spending the night with their grandmother so their mother, Amber Kramer, could wrap presents and get Christmas ready for them when they got home. WCCO-TV reports that the family says the grandmother was taken to the hospital and did everything she could to save the girls.

No firefighters were injured, and the cause of the fire has not been determined.

Donations are being sought through a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help with funeral expenses and other costs as the mother is not able to return to work right away and has three other kids she needs to take care of and to be there for them.

You can visit their GoFundMe page here. Nearly $33,000 has been raised as of about 7:45 PM on Tuesday.

By — Lakeland News