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Libby March / Buffalo News
Emergency personnel respond to a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Emergency personnel respond to a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Fire Lt. Otis Stephens looks out the window after responding to a two-alarm fire call at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Fire Lt. Otis Stephens looks out the window after responding to a two-alarm fire call at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Destroyed windows in a home damaged by a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Destroyed windows in a home damaged by a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Belongings pulled from a home damaged in a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Belongings pulled from a home damaged in a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Officer Randy Billups looks down at debris from an early morning two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Officer Randy Billups looks down at debris from an early morning two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Emergency personnel respond to a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Emergency personnel respond to a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Firefighter Sean McKinnie, left, and police photographer Andrew Nostrant communicate at the scene of a fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Firefighter Sean McKinnie, left, and police photographer Andrew Nostrant communicate at the scene of a fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Destroyed windows in a home damaged by a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Destroyed windows in a home damaged by a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Firefighter Sean McKinnie, right, Detective Joseph Ruggiero, center, and police photographer Andrew Nostrant talk on the scene of a fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Firefighter Sean McKinnie, right, Detective Joseph Ruggiero, center, and police photographer Andrew Nostrant talk on the scene of a fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Destroyed windows in a home damaged by a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Destroyed windows in a home damaged by a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Emergency personnel respond to a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Emergency personnel respond to a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
A home damaged in a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
A home damaged in a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Emergency personnel respond to a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Emergency personnel respond to a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Destroyed windows in a home damaged by a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Destroyed windows in a home damaged by a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Firefighters Marques Martin, left, Alex Peters, center, and Tarris Breggins Jr. work on the scene of a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Firefighters Marques Martin, left, Alex Peters, center, and Tarris Breggins Jr. work on the scene of a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Fire Commissioner William Renaldo details a two-alarm fire that occurred at 207 Dartmouth Ave., addressing media at police and fire headquarters in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire and are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Fire Commissioner William Renaldo details a two-alarm fire that occurred at 207 Dartmouth Ave., addressing media at police and fire headquarters in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire and are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
Debris from a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth Ave., in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
Debris from a two-alarm fire at 207 Dartmouth Ave., in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Libby March / Buffalo News
A fire truck departs the scene of a fire at 207 Dartmouth Ave., in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
Libby March / Buffalo News
A fire truck departs the scene of a fire at 207 Dartmouth Ave., in Buffalo, Dec. 31, 2022. Three children, including an infant, survived the fire but are hospitalized at Oishei Children's Hospital. The infant is stable, while the other two children are in critical condition. A grandmother from the home is being treated in the burn unit at ECMC. Three girls, ages 7, 8, and 10, were resuscitated on scene but did not survive.
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Photo courtesy of Kenise Robinson
From left: Jalissa Liggans, 7, Aniyah Green, 10, Nehemiah Robinson, 2, Joelle Liggans, 8, and Denise Keith, 4, in an undated family photograph.
Photo courtesy of Kenise Robinson
From left: Jalissa Liggans, 7, Aniyah Green, 10, Nehemiah Robinson, 2, Joelle Liggans, 8, and Denise Keith, 4, in an undated family photograph.
Aniyah Green was a “lil’ momma” to everyone she met. She was 10.
Joelle Liggans went from being nonverbal to singing in a choir. She was 8.
Jalissa Liggans was a tomboy, the kind of child who would jump off a diving board without being sure how to swim. They called her “Juicy.” She was 7.
Denise Keith was the quiet one – smart and always observing what was going around her. She was 4.
Nehemiah Robinson was the lone boy among his sisters and a classic mama’s boy. He liked to play with cars and ate everything. He was 2.
These were the five children who perished in a New Year’s Eve fire at a Dartmouth Avenue home in Buffalo’s LaSalle neighborhood.
Aniyah, Joelle and Jalissa died at the scene. Denise and Nehemiah were rushed to the hospital, where they died later. One child – an 8-month-old baby girl, Ziyah Robinson – survived. Lisa Liggans, who was caring for the children, carried the baby out of the house. The baby suffered only minor smoke inhalation, but Lisa Liggans remains in the Erie County Medical Center burn unit.
The children’s mother, Kenise Robinson, now mourns her unimaginable loss as she prepares to bury their little bodies.
At the same time, she has faced questions she calls “hurtful.”
For the past seven months, her children lived with Lisa and her husband, Clarence Liggans, Kenise Robinson said.
“Anybody that knows me knows I love my children very much,” she said.
Derek Gee / Buffalo News
Kenise Robinson, mother of five children who died and one baby who survived the deadly Dec. 31 house fire on Dartmouth Avenue, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.
She has found some solace in allowing the two children who died at the hospital to be organ donors. The lives of five children were saved as a result, she said.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “It’s even more confirmation that it’s a circle. What you put out comes back to you. We kept five families from feeling the hurt that I’m feeling.”
Kenise Robinson recounted how she learned about the fire when she got a phone call from Oishei Children’s Hospital.
She raced to the hospital and learned that her three oldest daughters had died. The baby was doing well, and doctors were doing everything they could do to save Denise and Nehemiah. Both had suffered severe smoke inhalation. They had repeated seizures and went into cardiac arrest multiple times. Soon, they were declared “brain dead.”
Robinson said it gave her a measure of comfort to be able to donate their organs.
“I’m an organ donor myself. I’ve always felt like if you’re gone from here, if a piece of you could save someone else, why not?”
Nehemiah’s transplant surgery took place on the night of Jan. 1. Denise’s was on the following morning.
“It was hard,” Robinson said, but added the organ donations offered “some type of meaning, to help somebody some type of way.”
She later received an update from ConnectLife about where the donations went.
“Denise and Nehemiah literally saved the lives of the following: a 4-year-old boy from Alabama, a 3-year-old boy from Boston, a 7-year-old girl from Cleveland and two other recipients who are in the OR right now,” the text message said.
Robinson was given two white teddy bears that contain the recordings of her children’s heartbeats.
The family is still trying to process the loss, said Patricia Montgomery, great aunt of the five children.
“There are no words,” Montgomery said.
Derek Gee / Buffalo News
Patricia Montgomery, great aunt of the five children who died and one baby who survived the deadly Dec. 31 house fire on Dartmouth Avenue, is still trying to process the loss, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. "There are no words," she said.
Robinson said that the Ligganses had taken care of her children for about seven months. She explained she had to leave her home and was living with another family member, but authorities said it was inadequate and the Liggans ended up taking temporary custody of the children.
Murray Holman of the Stop the Violence Coalition said his group and the Back to Basics ministries will try to support Robinson however possible.
He hopes people understand she is a grieving mother and had nothing to do with the fire. Fire officials have ruled the blaze “accidental,” but have not yet determined exactly how it started.
“She did nothing with the fire,” Holman said. “She had nothing to do with that. And whatever happened prior to that had nothing to do with the fire. … She actually donated the parts of her children to save lives of other children. We don’t want the community to come at her. She has enough on her plate.”
Robinson said she had twice weekly visits with her children and also talked to them on the phone.
She last spoke to them on Christmas Day, she said. It had been hard to arrange visits with the holidays and then the blizzard.
“We talked about what they were getting and how much I missed them and the presents that I was going to bring to the next visit,” she said.
Now, instead, she is planning a funeral for them.
Robinson’s father started a gofundme.com fundraiser for her.
There is also a gofundme.com fundraiser started by the Liggans’ church for them.
