A neighbor, Vincent Morgan, 41, said he got up about 2:40 a.m. and smelled smoke. He dismissed the odor, believing somebody was cooking in his home or next door, he said.
About 4 a.m., Morgan said he was awakened by someone shouting outside that a house was on fire and that everybody needed to escape. He said he roused his 80-year-old father and hurried him out of the house. Morgan also helped his brother, who suffers from a breathing condition, escape.
"In the blink of an eye, it can all be gone," Morgan said as he surveyed the damage to both houses. "I'm sad that the deaths have come to the neighborhood."
Neighbors and friends described Hellams and Ferguson as being devoted to the children.
Ferguson drove one granddaughter to school every day and could often be seen "doting over them."
The two girls often played basketball or read.
"They loved school," Morgan said.
Aisha attended Stewart Hobson Middle School, where a counseling team will provide support to student and teachers today.
"The counseling team is trying to assist the family, given not only the tragedy, but the fact that it's so close to Christmas," said Roxanne Evans, a school spokeswoman
In front of the house, icicles hung from a green aluminum awning, and toys lay in a heap of other charred and melted detritus.
About 11:30 a.m., an aunt stood outside the house as firefighters searched for Daisha and prayed that the girl might somehow have survived.
"There might be a miracle," said the aunt, who declined to give her name. "We are just hoping beyond hope."
Staff writer Nicole Fuller and staff researchers Bobbye Pratt and Don Pohlman contributed to this report.
