By Juan Ortega and Rafael Olmeda
The Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
LAUDERHILL, Fla. — She was the beautiful gift born last Christmas — an energetic baby who cooed during church services and waved happily at Thanksgiving dinner last week.
On Tuesday, family and friends mourned Jada Reynolds, an 11-month-old found dead Monday night after a fire at The Falls of Inverrary.
“This is a shock. The family is very saddened by the loss of Jada,” said her grandfather, Keith Reynolds Sr., a pastor at Greater Life Apostolic Ministries in Tamarac.
Dozens of families, most of them in pajamas, were evacuated from the 72-unit condo building at 6010 S. Falls Circle Drive. The fire appears to have started about 9 p.m. in Unit 401, where Jada’s body was found, Deputy Fire Chief Marc Celetti said.
The cause was still under investigation Tuesday night. The Red Cross helped relocate the displaced families, who will be out of their homes indefinitely.
Firefighters and family members couldn’t say why Jada was left in the condo as her mother, Sasheena Reynolds, 26, and her toddler brother, Jahleel Reynolds, escaped unharmed. Father Keith Reynolds Jr., 30, was on his way home from work when the fire broke out, a relative said.
The elder Reynolds said he spoke to Jada’s parents Tuesday, but they were so distraught, he didn’t ask them specifics.
“I was trying to see what we could do for them,” Reynolds said.
Firefighters tried to extinguish flames on the fourth floor, but at first were forced back and had to call for help, Celetti said. They had to string water hoses 400 feet into the building and 40 feet upstairs.
“I just saw flames all over,” said Maggie Hernandez, who fled with her son. “We ran out. I heard screaming, a lot of screaming. Mostly a woman screaming. Horrible.”
Part of the building’s roof was gone and at least eight units were damaged.
Celetti said scented candles were being used in the apartment because the power had been turned off, but investigators did not know if that caused the fire.
Florida Power & Light Co. cut off power to the apartment recently because the family had “fallen behind” on paying the electric bill, said Constancia Daley, Sasheena Reynolds’ cousin.
At least 19 children have died in house fires in Florida since 1999, news media reports say.
On Tuesday, friends of the Reynolds family phoned to offer their condolences.
Carol McKay, who knows Jada’s parents through the Tamarac church, recalled how Jada was often heard babbling. “She likes to talk during service,” McKay said.
Keith Reynolds, the baby’s father, is a microcomputer technician at the Broward School District. He and his wife are devoted youth pastors at the church, the elder Reynolds said. “They’re the ones who carry the church,” he said.
Daley, a pastor at Rhema Word Ministries International in Pompano Beach, said when the Reynoldses visited her home on Thanksgiving, Jada was the center of attention.
“Everybody wanted to have her,” Daley said. “After a while, she went back into her mother’s arms and then she started waving at everyone.”
Copyright 2008 South Florida Sun-Sentinel