AKRON, Ohio — Kristal Horn finds small comfort remembering the last words she heard from her daughter, Arika Rogers, over the phone Tuesday afternoon.
"The last thing she said to me was, 'Mom, I love you. Thank you, mom. I love you.' That's the last thing she said," Horn recalled.
By Tuesday evening, Rogers was gone, the victim of a fire in her third-floor apartment at Channelwood Village in downtown Akron.
A friend, who was staying with Rogers at the apartment, jumped to safety and then tried to go back in for Rogers, but he couldn't save her, according to the victim's family.
Horn said her daughter was "a beautiful soul" who was taking online classes to become a medical assistant. She is survived by her two children: 1-year-old daughter, Amieah, and her son, Mari, who turns one on Friday.
"It makes me cry because she's not here and I'm thinking about calling her and I can't call her," said her sister, Lauren Brown.
Horn watches the two grandchildren once or twice a week randomly. She's now counting her blessings that her daughter dropped off the kids at her house just a few hours before the fire. Otherwise, she believes the tragedy would have been even greater.
"I believe that God ordained it that way that they would be here with me," said Horn. "I just thank God that they're here, that I can have my grandkids here with me."
The fire started around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the apartment building on Fleming Drive near West Thornton Street. According to firefighters, two other people in the building were injured and taken to a hospital.
Dr. Albert A. Bragg Jr., executive director of Alpha Phi Alpha Homes Inc. which owns the property, said six families were displaced. The Red Cross offered assistance.
While fire investigators have not released an official cause of the fire, Bragg said he was told by investigators that the tragedy was the result of a cooking fire. The family said the surviving witness also told them a grease fire got out of control.
"She was cooking rice and she was about to make chicken and she couldn't control the fire," Brown said.
Community members have been stepping up with clothing donations. All of the kids clothing, toys, furniture and several other items were destroyed in the blaze.
"Everything important, all of it is gone. Everything is gone," Brown said.
Relatives have also set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses and assist the two children.
In the meantime, Horn hopes her daughter's final words to her resonate with others.
"You never know when that's the last time you're going to see your child, or anybody, so if you've got somebody in your life that you love, just always tell them you love them because you never know," she said.
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