2 people die in Bryan house fire

Sebastian McConnell, 20, and Ashley Jenkins, 17, of Bryan, died in a house fire today.

BRYAN -- Two Bryan residents died in an early morning house fire today.

Bryan Fire Chief Bruce Siders identified the victims as Ashley Jenkins, 17, and her fiance, Sebastian McConnell, 20. Both had been asleep on the second floor of a North Beech Street house when the fire broke out, he said. Miss Jenkins’s five-month-old son, Nicholas, along with her mother, Jackie Kurtz, and stepfather Joseph Kurtz, were sleeping on the first floor and escaped unharmed.

Chief Siders said a neighbor called 911 just after 1 a.m. after spotting the fire. When crews arrived, the house was fully engulfed in flames.

“The guys made an attempt to try to reach the victims, but to no avail. They had to back out,” he said. “...They were driven back by the fire.”

Investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s Office were called in to help determine the cause of the blaze, which appeared to have started in the living room of the first floor, he said.