Fire and structural damage have made it difficult for investigators to determine the cause of a Dec. 14 fire that destroyed homes at 713 and 715 Johnson Street and killed two children, Fire Chief Craig Canczyk said.

“Unfortunately, the damage to the structure (at 715 Johnson) has made it difficult for us to determine the cause of the fire,” he said.

The intense heat generated by the fire caused such extensive damage, he said, that the usual indicators used to determine where and how the fire may have started — such as interior walls and furnishings  — made it difficult to determine the point of origin because they were destroyed and are not available to examine.

Danczyk said the wood frame house was old, as were the materials used to build it.

“The building materials in the house generated the most heat. It burned fast and hot, and caused damage to a lot of the indicators. It developed a lot of fire and left us too little to work with from an investigative standpoint.”

He said the Vicksburg Fire Department and investigators from the state Fire Marshal’s Office working together could not determine a point of origin.

“To do that, you have to be certain, and we didn’t have a lot to work with. With the furniture and the interior walls destroyed, it made it difficult. The fire consumed everything. We even had fires within 100 yards of the house from embers falling in the immediate area.”

The fire that took the lives of 16-month-old Mariah Dearman and 27-month-old Glen Williams occurred about 9:39 p.m. The first police officer on the scene and firefighters from Fire Station 7 arriving at the home both reported the building was engulfed in flames.

Adrienna Williams, the children’s mother, was asleep in the home with the children when she smelled smoke. She told officers she tried to look for the children, but the home was dark and she became overcome with smoke and had to leave.

Thomas Dearman, 24, the children’s uncle, attempted unsuccessfully to save the children. He was severely burned and was taken to the burn unit at Merit Health Central Mississippi.

Williams, 23, was taken to Merit Health River Region, where she was treated and released.