Jaeden Nunez,Josefina Estevez Obituary, Death;- Lebanon city officials have disclosed the identities of four victims who lost their lives, including two children and a teenager, in the Church Street duplex fire that occurred on September 28.
The Lebanon County Coroner’s Office confirmed on September 29 that Jaeden Nunez, 17, and Josefina Estevez, 73, both residents of Lebanon, were discovered deceased following the fire at their residence on Sunday. Amarri Morris Rodriguez, aged 1, was visiting from New York, while 4-year-old Veyda Pereyra, also a Lebanon resident, was visiting on the same day.
According to officials, Rodriguez and Estevez were pronounced dead at the scene, whereas Pereyra and Nunez were declared deceased at WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital.
As of Monday afternoon, the cause and manner of death for the victims remained undetermined. The coroner’s office indicated that Nunez and Estevez would not undergo an autopsy, while the status of the others was still pending as of Monday morning.
The fire was traced back to an electrical outlet in the living room on the first floor and has been classified as accidental, as stated by Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello. At the time of the fire, there were ten individuals present in the residence, with several guests attending a birthday celebration.
The Lebanon Fire Department received a call at 8:43 a.m. on September 28 regarding a multi-dwelling fire with reports of entrapment. Upon their arrival, fire crews observed that both the first and second floors of the building were completely engulfed in flames.
Firefighters worked diligently to extinguish the flames and began searching for residents trapped inside. Officials reported that crews were able to locate three individuals and transported them to WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital.
Three additional residents managed to exit the duplex independently before the fire department’s arrival, according to Sweitzer. Officials noted that conditions worsened, necessitating the withdrawal of the crews.
“We had to pull back from the building due to the fire conditions becoming extremely uninhabitable for us,” stated Lebanon Fire Chief Aaron “A.J.” Sweitzer on September 28. “We withdrew, and then we applied matching streams to the structure.
Capello said another resident, who was not involved with the fire, collapsed on the sidewalk during the time of the incident. She was taken to Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center.
“The City of Lebanon is fortunate to have such a courageous and dedicated community of first responders — neighbors who come together without hesitation in moments of greatest need to protect lives and property,” the mayor said in a release Sept. 28. “We are also deeply grateful to the friends, family members, and neighbors who provided comfort and support to the victims’ families during this tragedy.”
The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army were on the scene to support the residents.
