'Our hearts are broken': Children killed in Sewickley house fire identified

Less than two weeks before Christmas, the Quaker Valley School District community is mourning the loss of two Edgeworth Elementary School students who died Tuesday morning in a house fire.

“Our hearts are broken by the loss of these children. They were treasured members of the Quaker Valley family and were loved by their teachers and friends,” Quaker Valley School District superintendent Tammy Andreyko said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “We have many supports in place in the coming days and weeks for our staff and students as they process their grief.”

Wylde Lightner, a 6-year-old boy, and Lyric Keys, a 9-year-old girl, died in the blaze that destroyed a house in Sewickley, according to Allegheny County Police. The school district said they were siblings.

“It has been difficult for all of us to process this information, and we are sensitive to the fact that our students will respond in different ways to this news,” Andreyko said. “The loss of children is significant and raises many emotions, concerns, and questions for our families and community, especially our students.”

The fire in the 500 block of Miller Way was reported about 2:45 a.m., according to Allegheny County 911 and Cochran Hose Fire Chief Shayne Quinn. Miller Way is an alley off Broad Street between Centennial Avenue and Hill Street.

According to Quinn, firefighters arrived at the scene in less than five minutes, but the front of the home already was engulfed in flames. The mother of the children, who authorities have not yet identified, escaped by crawling through a second-floor window onto a porch roof and jumping from there.

The woman was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital for treatment of burns and injuries from her fall, Quinn said. Her condition was not immediately available.

Quinn said the woman told police her children were still inside. He said firefighters were able to enter a rear window on the second floor, where they found one of the children in a bedroom.

The second child was found after firefighters were able to knock down the fire in the front of the home and reach the second floor via a staircase.

“There was no way to get down the steps (from the second floor),” Quinn said. “There was too much fire.”

This is the Sewickley house where authorities say two children died in an early morning fire. pic.twitter.com/i3Q1KRdGs9

— Brian Rittmeyer (@BCRittmeyer) December 13, 2022

Quinn said firefighters from seven communities responded to the blaze and had the fire under control in about 35 minutes.

Both children were pronounced dead at the scene.

Elliot Franz lives across from the house on Hill Street. He said his 2-year-old son slept through the commotion despite his son’s room facing the alley.

Franz said he was friendly with the family, but didn’t know them well.

When first approached, Franz did not know the children had died. Despite being the middle of the night, he said the response by volunteer firefighters was incredible.

“I figured since they got here so fast, they were OK,” he said. “They were cute kids, too. I remember seeing them at the Christmas parade just last week.”

The children’s home was at the back of Don Beyer’s home fronting Centennial Avenue. He believes the woman and her children moved into the house this summer.

Beyer said his wife woke to sounds of popping and at first thought it was gunfire. Firetrucks already were arriving by the time they looked out a window.

Beyer said he left Christmas lights strung across his back porch because the children liked them. He didn’t know how old the children were but described them as grade-school age.

“They were still in that innocent, polite age,” he said.

Quinn did not know the cause of the fire. County homicide detectives and the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the county police tip line at 833-255-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.

Quinn said the woman and her children were renting the home, and he did not know whether they had smoke detectors. The inside of the home was gutted by the fire.

The house has been owned by an investment company for nearly a year, according to Allegheny County real estate records.

This is the third fatal house fire in the area since Sunday. One person was killed in a fire Sunday night at The Roosevelt Building, an apartment building in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Kevin Prince, 60, died in a fire Monday morning at Brinton Towers, a senior apartment building in Braddock Hills.