Mother Charged After Toddlers Survived a House Fire They Were Left Alone in for Days
Three little girls sat inside a burning house on Floran Street in Columbia, South Carolina. The oldest was 6. The youngest was 2. Not one adult was there.
Firefighters from Columbia-Richland Fire Department forced their way through the front door just before 9:30 p.m. on June 29. Inside, they found heavy smoke and rapidly worsening conditions.
The three children were discovered in and near the bedrooms. One of them was found limp in a hallway.
All three were pulled out and rushed to the JMS Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia. Officials confirmed Wednesday the children suffered severe burn injuries but were in critical, but stable condition.
What They Found Inside That Home
This was not just a fire. What investigators found inside tells a far darker story.
The youngest child was malnourished, had maggots and dead bugs in her diaper, and all three had scars consistent with bug bites.
Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins described a cockroach infestation throughout the home. A police report stated the home was in “disrepair” and not safe for the physical or mental development of the children.
No food. No adult. For at least a week.
The Mother Was Less Than a Mile Away
Cases where vulnerable people are left without help while a fire closes in rarely end well. Earlier this year, a woman pulled from a burning Florida home died even after firefighters reached her in time. These three girls were babies, and no one was coming for them from inside that house.
According to investigators, Zana Oden, 28, told police she left the children alone for about a week. She returned after the fire started, saw police and firefighters at the scene, then walked away without speaking to anyone.
She was found hiding in a closet in a nearby apartment. Even after knowing about the fire, she never contacted law enforcement. The full updated case details from WLTX show how investigators pieced the timeline together.
The Father Knew Too
Mali’K Locke, 21, the father of one of the children, also knew about the neglect. Text messages show both he and Oden discussed checking on the children but never returned.
This is not entirely unlike the Columbia case that broke just days before, where three young children were found alone during a Columbia house fire as their mother faced charges.
The pattern of children being left without supervision in dangerous conditions keeps appearing.
Oden faces three felony counts of unlawful conduct toward a child. Locke faces three counts of unlawfully placing a child at risk.
Oden’s bond was set at $300,000, Locke’s at $200,000. Both are under GPS monitoring and barred from contact with the children. The girls will be placed in DSS emergency custody upon hospital release.
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Why This Matters
This is not an isolated story. According to the NFPA, home structure fires cause an annual average of 2,600 civilian deaths and over 10,000 injuries in the US every year. The USFA found that children under age 5 carry the highest fire death rates among all children.
Roughly 22% of child fire fatalities involve children classified as “too young to act” because they simply could not understand what was happening around them.
These three girls were 6, 4 and 2. The 2-year-old had no chance of finding her way out on her own. You can read the full child fire victim data from NFPA to understand how real this risk is.
It is also worth remembering that fires don’t announce themselves before they turn deadly. We covered how fast things can spiral in a case where a Donegal Township house fire caused serious structural damage to both a home and garage before anyone could respond.
Key Takeaways
Three sisters ages 6, 4 and 2 were left alone in a cockroach-infested Columbia home for at least a week. The house caught fire on June 29. All three remain in critical but stable condition.
Their mother returned to the scene, saw the fire, and left without calling 911. Both parents have been charged. The children will go into DSS emergency custody after hospital release.
What do you think the courts should do in a case like this? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
Three Girls Who Almost Became a Statistic
These girls survived because firefighters broke through that door in time. A 2-year-old cannot open a window, call for help, or understand what smoke means.
If you ever see a child left alone for days, or a home where no adult seems present, say something. Call CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or contact local DSS. One call can change everything.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. All details are based on publicly available reports at the time of publication. The investigation is ongoing and charges do not constitute a finding of guilt.
