Prayer vigil offers comfort to family of Jeannette fire victims

Delena Lewis ached as she listened to prayers swirl around in the wind outside Jeannette City Hall on Wednesday afternoon.

The devastation was fresh — her son Tyler J. King, 27, and four grandchildren, Kyson, 7, Kinzleigh, 6, Keagan, 3, and Korbyn, 1 month, were killed hours earlier in a house fire.

Two other children, ages 10 and 1, were able to escape with Miranda John, King’s fiancee and the children’s mother.

The prayer service on South Second Street offered comfort to Lewis, her son, Kenneth King, and other family members who embraced throughout it and afterward. Kenneth and Tyler King were twins.

“There are no words to describe what either one of us are feeling,” Lewis said. “It’s a devastating loss to our families. Not only mine but my son’s fiancee, and the other two surviving children are left without a father. How do you explain that to them? It’s hard for anybody to grasp.”

All eight people lived in the house on Guy Street. It was destroyed, and a neighboring home was damaged.

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A neighbor worked with firefighters and police to rescue Miranda John and the two children. Investigators spent hours at the scene Wednesday sifting through the rubble to locate the five victims.

About 50 people attended the wind-whipped prayer service, including community members, city firefighters and council members, school district officials and members of the Westmoreland County Department of Pubic Safety.

Several area pastors spoke from the steps outside city hall. The Rev. Anthony Murray of Hopewell Baptist in Jeannette offered a prayer for first responders who dealt with the difficult aftermath.

“They have seen some things this morning,” he said.

Lewis appreciated the community support.

“I just want to say thank you,” she said. “It’s so heartwarming to know that there’s people out there that do care. And we appreciate the thoughts and prayers.”

Family members said Miranda John and the two children who escaped were being treated for smoke inhalation.

“The whole thing’s just … there’s no words for it,” Lewis said. “He was a good son, he was an amazing dad, a grandson. We just don’t know what we’re going to do. We got a long process ahead of us.”