Jen Grubbs is carrying physical and emotional scars hard to imagine after she scrambled from an attic to escape a burning home, but the fire claimed the lives of her two close friends and two of their children.
"It's hard to cope because those children did not deserve to die. Nobody deserved to die in that house," Grubbs told New 5 with tears streaming down her face. "I feel like if there were smoke detectors, it could have prevented a lot of it to happen."
Grubbs had been staying in the attic of the rental home on E. Tallmadge Avenue for a week and had plans to move in permanently.
Around 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning, she smelled smoke and opened the attic door to the stairway, but quickly realized the fire was out of control.
"When I opened the door, that's when I saw all the black smoke and it was heavy. It was thick. There was no way I was going to get through it."
That meant there was nothing she could do to help Shanice Riley, 8, and Aniyla Riley, 9, who were asleep on the second floor. Their mother, Shirley Wallis, was also on the second floor and their father, Omar Riley, was on the first floor. All four of them died in the fire.
Firefighters rescued 12-year-old Shaniya Wallis. She's in stable condition at Akron Children's Hospital in the ICU, according to Glen Parker who also lived at the home. Parker was not home at the time of the fire and is engaged to Grubbs.
"Keep the memory of them alive and remember what you have at home and tomorrow is not promised," Parker said.
Grubbs said when the smoke started to pour into the attic, she realized her only escape was through a tight window, but she struggled as precious seconds ticked by.
"There was even a time when I almost gave up because I was having that much of a hard time fitting through that window and then something told me to keep trying," she said.
Grubbs kept pushing and squeezed through the window, landing on the roof below.
"That's when I hit my face pretty good, and then I just started screaming for help."
She hung from the roof and dropped into the arms of a neighbor on the ground.
Akron firefighters are planning to discuss the the case with the city prosecutor to determine if the landlord violated a city ordinance. Fire Chief Clarence Tucker told News 5 the landlord could face citations or charges since no smoke detectors were found in the home as required in rental properties.
Grubbs believes the landlord should be charged.
"She knew better. She's a landlord. She should know better," Grubbs said.
Donations are being accepted at Akron Celebration Church to help pay for the funerals and assist the families with needs. The donations can be dropped off or mailed to the church at 688 Dan Street Akron, OH, 44310
