Children known as Smith6 laid to rest after dying in house fire

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU/Gray News) - Six children known as Smith6 were laid to rest after dying in a house fire in Indiana last month.

Hundreds of people paid tribute to the Smith6, 17-month-old Faith Smith, D’Angelo Smith, 4, Deontray Smith, 5, Davida Smith, 9, Demetris Smith, 10, and Angel Smith 11, on Monday afternoon at the Century Center.

On Jan. 21, fire crews in South Bend, Indiana, were called to the 200 block of North LaPorte Avenue and met with intense flames that had engulfed the first and second floors of the home.

It took crews three hours to put the fire out.

The youngest five of the six children were killed in the fire while Angel died at the hospital five days later.

The fire was the deadliest residential fire in South Bend since April 18, 1929, when six people died in a fire in a home in River Park.

Family members say the children were a “close-knit group of siblings.” They spoke about the children at Monday’s funeral service.

Angel loved making YouTube videos and was protective of her siblings. Demetric enjoyed dancing with his classmates and was excited to get baptized. Davida was known for greeting everyone at her school with a hug. Deontay loved to climb trees. D’Angelo followed Deontay’s every move. Faith was lovingly called “Little Mama,” according to family members at the funeral.

City officials, school officials and faith leaders were among those who spoke at the funeral service to share stories about the children and offer uplifting words to those with heavy hearts.

Lynn Coleman spoke about why he now calls the Smith6 the Phenomenal6.

“For as long as we’ve done this in this community and tried to work and help and serve, they’ve done things in their short lifespan that many of us have been working at for years and haven’t been able to do,” Coleman said. “They’ve brought people together across this community — Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, young, old, rich, poor. They’ve connected people that would’ve never talked with each other. They’ve caused people to come together to say, ‘What can I do to help?’ And not only say it, but to do it. ... And for that, Lord, thank you. I call it a blessing. And for that, I now call them the Phenomenal6.”

A teacher at the school Demetris and Davida attended said they were both great kids.

“Every morning, I got to see Davida and Demetris come through the breakfast line and morning arrival,” Amanda Choinacky said. “I would see them in the hallway and in the classrooms when I was in and out of the classrooms, but I will always remember Demetris’s smile. He always had a big smile. Whenever we would say good morning, he would say, ‘Good morning, Ms. Choinacky.’”

Choinacky added that Davida was very quiet but was such a kind, sweet-spirited girl.

Before stepping down from the podium, Choinacky presented two letterman jackets that were made to honor Demetris and Davida. They will be displayed inside the school’s gym.

Family members also spoke about the children at the funeral.

“They tried to make friends with absolutely everybody, no matter how old they were, how young they were,” Andreas Gartland said. “They were a bunch of kids that I know that each one of you would’ve loved and appreciated them as adults being in your community. They were a great bunch of kids.”

First responders are also coping with the loss of the children and working through their own grief and trauma after witnessing the tragedy firsthand.

Two South Bend firefighters were injured while responding to the fire. One of them fell through the second floor while trying to save the children. The other firefighter suffered minor burns.

“We are doing our best to get through this, but I’m encouraged by this community for their support and their appreciation for what we do,” said South Bend Fire Chief Carl Buchanon.

Capt. Nick Miller said the most important part of this process is coming together with his team to talk about what happened.

“Our most important thing is actually the kitchen table at the stations,” Miller explained. “That allows for us to come together, have a cup of coffee, talk about what happened and really air out our feelings, and because they are our family, they know what we go through. It is a lot easier to talk to them sometimes than our own family.”

The fire remains under investigation, as the South Bend Fire Department is working closely with the South Bend Police Department and investigators with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

“There’s never gonna be closure without an explanation from a police perspective, and we’re going to get an explanation,” said South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski.

No official cause or origin of the fire has been announced.

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