Two children died in the blaze.
A family of five has been killed in a suspected arson attack in Denver.
Djibril Diol, his wife, daughter, sister and niece all perished in a house fire in Green Valley Ranch, which investigators believe may have been set intentionally.
Three more adult residents managed to escape with their lives by jumping from the second floor; all five victims were found dead on the bottom level.
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According to the Denver Post, the family had immigrated from Senegal in recent years; they were staying at their friend’s home until they could find one of their own.
The alarm was raised by a Denver police officer who noticed smoke in the area; police and firefighters descended on the address shortly after 2:30 AM Wednesday morning.
They quickly determined there were people trapped inside — but it was too late to save them.
Fire Captain Greg Pixley said officers valiantly tried to get into the home to rescue those trapped, but were beaten back by intense flames.
He said the horrific tragedy could have been even worse, had firefighters not managed to stop the spread of the fire to the surrounding houses.
Denver Police Chief Joe Montoya confirmed the investigation is a homicide one.
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“We have indication through some evidence that it was an arson,” he said, but refused to elaborate any further for fear of derailing the investigation.
He said that there was no indication of any prior trouble at the address.
Friends of the family in the tight knit community said Diol was an engineer, while both his wife and sister worked for Amazon.
“What would our community do to be a target?” one friend asked the publication.
A GoFundMe to raise money to repatriate the remains has already raised over $60k.
“This is a devastating time for Denver, for this community, and our hearts and our prayers go out to this community,” Pixley added. “We really want people to understand that we do feel for them right now.”
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