A family of five perished in an overnight fire that Denver Police suspect to be arson.
His name was Djibril Diol, him, his wife, his daughter, his sister and his niece all perished in Wednesday morning’s fire in a home they were staying at 5312 N. Truckee St, Denver, Colorado.
Diol immigrated from Senegal in recent years. He was an engineer for Kiewit working on the Central I-70 project. He was also a member on the advisory board of Boys & Girls Clubs of Senegal.
“Djiby was a brother from Senegal. His heart was just as big as the ocean and he was always ready to help. I am devastated more than one could think. He will be greatly missed. I want everyone to know that Boys & Girls Clubs of Senegal will help in any way we can, and we are closely monitoring this situation.”
Said Natty Ndate Beye-Loeschke, the founder of Boys & Girls Clubs of Senegal.
All Five Were In The Lower Part Of The home
The blaze in the two-story home started about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities determined early on that it was intentionally set and started a homicide investigation, said Joe Montoya, division chief for investigations at the Denver Police Department.
The victims were members of one Senegalese family. Djibril and Adja Diol and their 3-year-old daughter, Kadidia, died along with Coumba Diol and her infant daughter, Hawa Beye.
All five were in the lower part of the home while three people on the second story jumped to safety.
A police officer attempted to rescue people from the home but was pushed back by the heat from the flames, said Capt. Greg Pixley of the Denver Fire Department.
Investigators said they’re looking at all options.
“We have to go into it very open-minded and look at every possible angle. And if at some point we determine it was hate-motivated or bias-motivated, then we will definitely share that with the community,” Montoya said.
D enver Mayor Michael Hancock expressed his condolences to the victims’ families as did Macky Sall, the president of Senegal, who said he’s closely following the investigation.
Hancock urged people to donate to the family’s GoFundMe account to help send their remains to Senegal.
“I want to assure their neighbors and loved ones that we will move swiftly to determine what caused this tragedy,” he said.
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of $14,000 for information on the fire.
