Fire victim's daughter shares her memories

Carol Nabours' favorite memories of her mom include the two of them baking together.

"Cookies, cakes, chocolate was my favorite," Nabours said. "We'd listen to Shania Twain, The Backstreet Boys."

Nabours said she and her mother would talk on the phone about every day. Carol Nabours lives and works in Plainview, Texas.

Nabours' mother, Tia Nabours, 43, was one of the four people who died in a fire that engulfed a rental house in the back yard of 511 N. Wallace St. in Clovis early Thursday morning.

Officials on Tuesday identified three of the deceased – Nabours, her boyfriend Chris James, 41, and Joshua Ward, 33. The fourth victim, who had recently come to Clovis with Ward, had not been positively identified by Tuesday morning.

Cause of death for all four was smoke inhalation, Clovis Police Lt. Trevor Thron said.

Carol Nabours said her mom had a heart of gold.

"She didn't deserve to go like that," Nabours said.

Nabours and some on social media have said firefighters were slow to respond.

"If they'd gotten there earlier my mom would possibly be still alive," Nabours said.

But Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen said the fire was first reported at 2:18 a.m., fire department vehicles began leaving stations at 2:21 a.m. and the first fire department vehicles were on the scene at 2:24 a.m. Five different locations sent rescue workers and equipment, Nolen said.

"Certainly when there is an emergency things seem to take a long time when, in fact, only minutes have passed," Nolen said.

Nabours has taken time off from her job to make fundraising jars to put around Clovis, jars with her mother's picture on them.

"Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to pay for this," Nabours said, referring to funeral expenses.

Nabours has a "Go Fund Me" link on her Facebook page.

Nabours remembers things her mother said to her about life.

"She would tell me life's too short, you have to make the most of it," Nabours said.

Neighbors said they tried unsuccessfully to rescue the victims.

"I can still hear the screaming," Gary Hernandez said. Hernandez owns the property. "I couldn't do anything."

Anna Dutton, Hernandez's sister, said her mother lives next door to the home and her family members heard the residents' screams and tried to reach them.

"They could hear them by the door, saying 'It hurts. Please help me,'" Dutton said. "But they couldn't reach them. The fire was too hot."

Dutton said fire was coming out of a window on the north side of the house. She said the house has two doors – one faces west, one faces south. One window near the front entrance was boarded up.

Dutton said her nephew "was right by the door."

"He kept saying 'Follow my voice.' They were asking God to please help," Dutton said.

Dutton said her cousin broke a window and briefly had the hand of someone inside. "Something pulled her back," Dutton said. "He (her cousin) burned his arm and cut his arm trying to get her out."

Clovis Deputy Fire Chief Faye Craigmile was asked if she knew why the victims could not make it outside.

"Sometimes smoke makes you disoriented," Craigmile said.

Public Information Officer David Lienemann with the State Fire Marshal's office said it could be a month before the Fire Investigations Bureau, issues a report on the blaze.