Vigil held for 2 kids killed in San Bernardino apartment fire

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- A vigil was held Sunday night for two young children who were killed in a San Bernardino apartment fire Thursday. Their father was also gravely injured.

Firefighters responded to the 260 block of W. 14th Street around 3 a.m. after a unit in the two-story building caught fire. The family had been kicked out of the property due to code violations.

The 2-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl were found unconscious behind the living room couch. Paramedics tried but were unable to revive the siblings. They were transported to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.

The little girl, Candra Brianna Leetch, was a first-grader at Lincoln Elementary School, according to the San Bernardino City Unified School District. The 2-year-old boy was named Saul.

Their father, identified by family members as Saul Leetch, was listed in critical condition. Leetch's cousin, Josh, told Eyewitness News that his uncle suffered second- to third-degree burns and is "almost unrecognizable."

Their mother was in labor at the hospital at the time of the fire, giving birth to her third child. The infant, who was born at St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino late Thursday afternoon, was later taken by child services.

The apartment had numerous code violations, as well as fire hazards and unsafe living conditions. The San Bernardino Police Department says the property was a foreclosure and had been boarded up just 10 days ago. The family had repeatedly been kicked out of the property, but kept coming back. The city had issued more than $100,000 in fines because of code violations at the property since 2009, authorities said.

"The people in the property were there basically illegally, the electricity, water and gas had been turned off, however they had activated that again through illegal means," San Bernardino Police Lt. Rich Lawhead said.

Meantime, the San Bernardino City Professional Firefighters union says it took fire crews too long to respond to the fire. The group blamed the delayed response time on budget cuts and staffing reductions. Their union has donated $5,000 to help pay for the burial expenses for the two children.

The group plans to hold a news conference regarding the fire department's response to the fire later this week.

Donations for the burials can be made to Chase account number 665275116.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.