MOUNTAIN PINE, Ark. (KTHV) -- A fire in Mountain Pine leaves one dead and another in the hospital after a teen tried to save her sister. The 12-year-old survived.
Friday morning the Mountain Pine School District held an assembly releasing the news to students and afterward administration said 170 of those students checked out. Now they're adding more counselors and pastors to help get students through. James Galarza, Dean of Students for the district, said students and faculty were upset after receiving the news.
"Like a lot of schools we really consider all the students and faculty as a family,” Galarza said.
Around ten o clock, Thursday night first responders found a house on Mountain Pine Road engulfed in flames. Inside the body of an 18-year-old girl.
The Garland County Sheriff's Department said the 18-year-old returned to the house an hour before, relieving a neighbor watching her 12-year-old sister who a neighbor said the teen later tried to save. Now students at both Mountain Pine Elementary and High school are left in disbelief.
"There was a lot of grief,” Galarza said. “We had several students that were very upset, and we had quite a few that ended up going home."
Lieutenant Scott Miser was the first to arrive. He said limited cell phone service in the area could have played a part in why they weren’t called sooner.
"You know a lot of us we’d give our life for somebody,” Miser said. “To call 911 is a pretty good chore out there we get a lot of drop calls."
Miser doesn't believe the home had a fire detector or extinguisher that could have helped put out the fire. Now detectives are left searching for answers as they figure out what caused the flames. As for students more counselors and pastors are provided as they help with the healing process.
"This community is small,” Galarza said. “We have a family atmosphere that carries over from the school district into the community as well."
There's still no word on what caused the fire, but detectives do know it started on the porch. The 12-year-old involved was taken to Saint Vincent ER.
