Geoff Hackett

Firefighters look on at the charred remains of the apartment building.

An apartment building fire in Reserve has claimed the lives of two boys, a one-year-old and three-month-old boy, according to Reserve Fire Chief Glenn Bourg.

Neighbors were visibly shaken by the news that the two children, who the grandmother said were Keyami and Tramante, were killed.

“She ain’t doing too good,” said Lorraine Sanders, the grandmother, describing the emotional state of Keisha Sanders, the mother of the two boys.

“She saved one of them. She got one out, she told me,” said Lorraine Sanders, shaking her head. “She was trying to get the other two, but by the time she got ready to back in there that the flames were too bad.”  

Lorraine Sanders was called by a friend while getting her hair done, telling her there was a fire at the apartment building and to get there immediately because her grandchildren were still inside.

Where the fire started was unclear, but Lorraine Sanders said her daughter told her she had bathed and fed the children and they were laying down, when they smelled smoke.

The children are believed to be dead, as recovery dogs were brought in to find the remains of the children. 

Bourg said that, because of the size of the children, it was difficult to find their remains.The Reserve Volunteer Fire Department and the LaPlace Fire Department responded to the fire, but the building was completely destroyed by the blaze.

There were reports of a 17-year-old who went into the building to rescue the children that did not return, but Bourg said that was not true.

The state Fire Marshall is on the scene trying to determine the cause of the fire.