CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Investigators are trying to determine whether a fire that killed a mother and her 10-year-old daughter on the South Side on Sunday was deliberately set.
The fire started around 4 a.m. Sunday in the 8600 block of South Hermitage and killed 32-year-old Ieashia Ford and her 10-year-old daughter Porsha Ford.
Ieashia was described as a loving mom, while Porsha was excited to start in-person learning again Monday at Foster Park.
"Dang. It’s such a sad, tragic loss for our family," relative Felicia White told CBS 2.
The family doesn’t think the fire was an accident.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office and Chicago Police were brought in Sunday to look for signs of arson. The state fire marshal’s office had two specially-trained dogs go through the burned house, looking for any trace of an accelerant that might have started the fire.
Police are also looking into whether a domestic dispute might have been behind the fire.
“We’re getting bits and pieces they say it started in the back room where Ieashia stayed at," White said. "Trying to put it together – I don’t know, trying to put it together."
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Four other adult relatives, two men and two women, were in the home at the time of the fire and were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The Chicago Fire Department said all are expected to recover.
Ieashia leaves behind one other daughter, two sons and a grandchild.
The Chicago Fire Department said they did not hear any smoke detectors when they responded to the home.