Azyrie Williams, the 3-year-old killed in a house fire in Waverly Sunday morning, died from smoke inhalation, the Baltimore City Fire Department said Wednesday.
The cause of the fire that destroyed Azyrie's grandmother's home in the 500 block of E. 26th St., where her family lived, is still under investigation.
Elnora Barnes, 79, said she only narrowly escaped the blaze that took her granddaughter's life.
Barnes and two other family members climbed onto a ledge above the front porch of the home, and a firefighter helped her onto a ladder — just moments before a blast of fire smashed through a second-floor window near where she had been standing, she said.
"By the grace of God, I'm OK," she said.
Azyrie's father, Tavon Williams, awoke to the smell of smoke and was able to carry her 8-month-old twin sisters out of the house but said he couldn't get back in time to save the 3-year-old in a second-floor bedroom. The children's mother, Latasha Walker, 26, was at work at about 9 a.m., when the fire happened, he said.
Barnes said she had lived in the home for 43 years. Many in the neighborhood knew her from a thrift store she owned nearby, she said.
Barnes said Azyrie charmed everyone she met. More than 100 people gathered in the street outside the home to sing and pray Tuesday night, holding candles, balloons and gifts for the family.
Azyrie was the fourth person — and the second young child — killed in a fire in Baltimore this year. Nasir Smith, 2, died in a fire in Reservoir Hill in January.
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