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WEST BLOOMFIELD — The lives of three siblings were celebrated at a funeral service at the O.H. Pye III Funeral Home in Detroit Feb. 7.
The Oliora children — Hannah, 16, Jeremiah, 14, and Jacob, 12 — were killed from injuries they sustained from a house fire in the 5000 block of Pembury Lane in West Bloomfield Feb. 2.
“The entire community mourns the loss of the three young people who perished in the fire,” West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Jonathan Warshay said. “We have great sympathy for their parents. The township is doing all it can to investigate the cause of the fire.”
According to attendees, the funeral service was beautiful, although it was overwhelming to see the children’s caskets.
At around 8 p.m. Feb. 2, West Bloomfield Township Police Department dispatch received a 911 call from one of the children in the home saying their house was on fire and they could not get out, according to a press release from the West Bloomfield Police Department.
After entering the home, the West Bloomfield Fire Department removed the children and gave them emergency medical assistance. They were then transported to a local hospital, where they died from their injuries, according to the release.
“No one is staying in the home now,” West Bloomfield Fire Marshal Byron Turnquist said. “The case is still under investigation.”
Hannah Oliora was a junior at West Bloomfield High School. Messages on the funeral home website described her as a beautiful person who was committed to her faith. She was also described as a brilliant student, a loving sister, a loyal friend and an accomplished musician who always wore pretty dresses.
Residents purchased flowers and lit candles for the children, according to the funeral home’s website.
Jeremiah and Jacob Oliora were both students in the Farmington Public Schools system.
The West Bloomfield School District and Farmington Public Schools sent letters to families who reside within their respective districts to inform them that the siblings had died. West Bloomfield Superintendent Dania Bazzi and Eric Pace, the principal at West Bloomfield High, signed the letter on behalf of the West Bloomfield School District, with Kelly Coffin, the superintendent for Farmington Public Schools, signing on behalf of her district.
Both letters expressed heavy hearts for the loss of the students.
Grief support resources were also provided.
“During this difficult time, it is important that we come together as a community and support the family involved and one another,” the letters from both districts stated. “The most important thing we can do is love our kids and one another. Hug your loved ones and let them know you are there for them.”
Turnquist recommends that residents walk through their homes and check to make sure that all smoke alarms are in working order. Smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old should be replaced and there should be an alarm on every level of the home, with one outside of sleeping areas and one in each bedroom, according to Turnquist.
He also suggests having at least two ways of exiting a home and having a designated meeting place outside the home.
“If you have a two-story house and there is an upstairs hallway with all of the bedrooms (off of the hallway), there should be one in that hallway,” Turnquist said. “Then there should be one in all of the bedrooms.”
According to Turnquist, new smoke alarms are self-contained units that have a 10-year battery.
“So when you install it you don’t have to worry about it for about 10 years and then that smoke detector will start to chirp and let you know that the battery is dying at the end of its lifetime,” Turnquist said.
Although most newer homes have interconnected smoke alarms, meaning that when one smoke alarm goes off all of the other smoke alarms in the home go off as well, according to Turnquist, any working smoking alarm will do.
“Most importantly, you just need some type of smoke detection that will give you early notification, forewarns you of a fire, and (gives) you the most time possible to get out of your home safely,” Turnquist said.
