'All I could do was scream': Woman's daughter, mother killed in Point Douglas fire that's left her homeless
Fire not considered suspicious but cause still under investigation: police
The parents of a 12-year-old killed in a fatal house fire want the world to remember their daughter for being the smart, talented kid she was.
And the girl's mother is sharing who her own mother was, after she died with her granddaughter in the North Point Douglas fire Friday morning.
"She just loved her family and she wanted to be there for her family, her grandkids. She gave her whole soul, her whole being to her children, to her family, to her grandkids," said Anita Klaric, speaking about her 82-year-old mom Maria.
At just 12, Nicola Anna Ida Pangman-Klaric had already touched many lives in her tight-knit community. "She was a smart, caring, loving, giving child with such a big heart," Cliff Pangman, the girl's father, said.
"She just meant the world to me. It's like the world comes to an end without her in it. I wish I could just wake up from this nightmare," he added.
At least one neighbour teared up while speaking about the girl on Sunday.
Award-winning student
Pangman-Klaric had a passion for art so big she went to art school on Saturdays and already talked about studying it once she got to university. Her mom pointed out she had already received multiple awards and a couple of scholarships from her elementary school to help pay her tuition even though university was still many years away.
"Her teachers had nothing but great things to say about her," Klaric said.
Son, aunt escape blaze
Maria owned the house that caught fire on Prince Edward Street. Klaric lived in it with her late daughter and 17-year-old son who was able to escape the fire with his aunt, who sustained second-degree burns on her chest and arms and had to be rushed to hospital in critical condition.
Klaric was across the street at her sister's home when she heard the sound of glass breaking from her mom's house. When she went outside she saw neighbours had gathered.
"All I could do was scream, scream, and I was trying to get as close to the house as I could and I know the neighbour pulled me back and said there's embers in your hair get back, get back, like there's fire on you and all I could do was scream because the fire was going up by the windows. All I seen was black smoke and I knew my kids were in that room, my mom and I just wanted to try to wake them but there was nobody coming to the windows."
Klaric said her mom didn't smoke and she's not sure what caused the fire, which destroyed the home. She thinks smoke detectors were working but couldn't be sure as they were older.
Police said Sunday they didn't think the fire was related to four others in the Point Douglas area allegedly set by a 16-year-old arsonist later that same morning. The fires were to two mattresses, a garage and a chair on a porch.
Klaric is already dealing with survivor's guilt.
"I feel really bad for not being there because I feel like I should have been there because those are my kids and I should have protected them and I feel like maybe I could have saved them but I just wasn't there."
Klaric said her mom wasn't wealthy and hardly ever spent any money on herself and instead put her family first and gave what little leftover cash she had to the church.
"She just wanted the best for everybody, always."
The fire has left Klaric and her son homeless. The Fort Garry Hotel has put them up in a room free of charge until they can get back on their feet and a GoFundMe page has been set up for the family.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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