Flowers left in front of home where two children and a mother were killed in a fire

MONTCLAIR, Va. — A bouquet of flowers sits outside the home where two children, ages 8 and 13, and a 49-year-old woman were killed in a fire early Friday morning. Neighbors say that the woman is the mother of those two children.

A Prince William County Fire marshal was at the home on Piedmont Place on Saturday afternoon. They were inspecting the property and speaking with neighbors. 

The woman killed was identified as Sameena Begum. People who live nearby didn’t want to go on camera but told WUSA9 that the father of the two children, wasn’t home when the fire started just before 6 a.m.

Fire officials confirmed people living in the home’s basement escaped unharmed. Neighbors tell WUSA9 that those people are close friends with the family living upstairs.

Prince William County Fire says it isn’t uncommon for them to see these types of houses catch fire quickly.

“The homes in the 60s and 70s, yes, it would be very rare to find this. With the lightweight construction, unfortunately, we do see these fires," said Battalion Chief & Deputy Fire Marshal, Tom Jarman. "Many of you may remember, back in 2007, we lost a firefighter in a very similar-style house with lightweight construction. Same on-scene conditions, heavy fire involved. Our goal is obviously to search for people on the inside to provide rescues if at all possible.”

Prince William County Fire says the home did have working smoke detectors. They tell WUSA9 Saturday there was no update in the investigation to determine what caused the fire.