AUSTINBURG TOWNSHIP, Ohio — More than six weeks after a fire killed their daughter and two of their grandchildren, Marsha and Chris Cooper are still waiting.
"I need to know why my granddaughter and grandchildren are gone," Marsha Cooper said.
Joline Cooper, known as JoJo, died in the Feb 6 fire on Jefferson Eagleville Road along with her 4-year-old daughter, Celeste, and 2-year-old son, Atreus. JoJo's husband, a friend, and her infant daughter, Zelda, survived the fire.
"[Zelda has] just taken her first steps after her mom died," Marsha Cooper said.
Austinburg Fire Chief Bill Wilms previously told News 5 the first call reporting the fire on Jefferson-Eagleville Road came in around 7:30 am. By the time firefighters arrived, the chief said there was little they could do but stay back and fight the flames.
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"I mean we had fire coming out of every window and the eaves," Wilms previously told News 5.
A spokesperson with the State Fire Marshal's Office confirmed to News 5 that no official cause of the fire has been determined as the investigation continues.
For the Coopers, they're waiting to see what investigators conclude about the apartment where the family was staying.
Initially described as an apartment attached to a barn, News 5 began reaching out to the Ashtabula County Building Department about the unit. The department confirmed to News 5 that there were no records of a building permit, a certificate of occupancy, or any code violations or complaints tied to an apartment at that property.
"When you first walked in the door, there wasn’t a traditional floor," Chris Cooper said. "It was a barn floor, they didn’t have linoleum on it, they didn’t have a vinyl flooring covering on it."
The Coopers provided family photos, which they said were taken inside the apartment.
"They ran a lamp cord wired into the fan, had it strung across the ceiling, plugged into an extension cord going down and plugged into an outlet on the wall," Chris Cooper said.
"Nobody should have been living there," Marsha Cooper said.
The Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office and the Prosecutor's Office told News 5 there do not appear to be any charges coming in this case at this time.
News 5 made several attempts to reach the property owner by phone, voicemail, and Facebook message, but has not heard back.
Clay LePard is the Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @ClayLePard, on Facebook ClayLePardTV or email him at Clay.LePard@wews.com.
