Flames destroy home, tear family apart

BOLIVAR, N.Y. (WIVB) - A grandmother and her two young grandchildren didn’t make it out alive, from a home in Bolivar that burned to the ground.

Police say 42-year-old Tina Kemp died in the fire, along with here two grandchildren three-year-old Eric Holmes and two-year-old Jessica Holmes.

State Police Captain Steve Nigrelli says the fire started around 4:15 a.m. Sunday. The wooden house was no match for the fast-moving flames. Nothing was spared, the house was gone by the time crews were able to put the fire out.

The man who lived in the house, 62-year-old Terry Green, awoke to his girlfriend screaming the house was on fire. They all met trying to escape, but that was the last time Green saw his girlfriend and two of her grandkids alive.

Neighbors told Senior Correspondent Rich Newberg that they were awakened to popping sounds, which they thought were gunshots. Neighbors on both sides of the home went outside to see what was happening, and they both called 911 when they saw the home one fire.

Investigators tell News 4 that there were oxygen bottles inside the home that may have caused the popping sounds.

Nigrelli said, “Unfortunately it's tragedies like this that really hit home, especially in a small community like this.”

Bolivar resident Amanda Knight said, “It's just hard to imagine that it happened, especially with the fact that the two kids were so young. I have two children around that age so it's just kind of harsh.”

Terry Green and one-year-old Charles Holmes, who police will not identify, were treated at Olean General Hospital and released.

Monday afternoon, numerous law enforcement agencies are looking into what caused the deadly blaze. Police say it does not appear to be suspicious.