7-year-old girl killed in Kankakee house fire

KANKAKEE, Ill. (WLS) -- A 7-year-old girl was killed after a fire tore through a home in Kankakee Saturday morning.

Neighbor Maria Garcia ran to the home when she heard there was a fire. She and her mother stood outside praying everyone would be okay.

Sadly, that wasn't the case. 7-year-old T'niyah Hale was killed and four others were taken to hospitals, among them was the girl's uncle Robert Harris. He tried to get inside the burning home to rescue his family.

Harris is at Loyola University Medical Center with burns over 50 percent of his body Saturday night.

The fire broke out about 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning. When firefighters arrived they say there was heavy smoke and fire coming from the house.

The day after Christmas the family not only lost a child, but their home and all their belongings. Bishop Kenneth Franklin is a relative.

"At this time the family has absolutely nothing, no more than the clothes that's on their back," he said.

Hours after the fire, Garcia is still praying and trying to process this tragedy.

"I can't imagine losing a child," Garcia said. "I can't stop thinking about it. Wonderful family, I'm just praying for them that god shines a light on them."

There is no word yet on the cause of the fire.