Two Little Boys Die in Tragic Incident after Staying Home Due to School Cancellations amid Frigid Weather

Two young siblings were at home with family members when they both tragically lost their lives. One of the children had only just started kindergarten.

A home explosion left two kids dead in Defiance, St. Charles County, on January 19, 2024. Firefighters reportedly arrived on the scene only to find the children already deceased.

However, three adults, including the kids' mother, Evelyn Turpiano, and her mom, Jennifer Ham, and her stepdad, Vern Ham, managed to escape the fire, which left the property in flames. But her two little boys, Jamison Keiser, 6, and Julian Keiser, 4, sadly died.

According to a neighbor, Sharon Oberlag, the brothers had been home on that fateful day because their school canceled classes due to the extremely cold weather conditions.

Sharon, who has reportedly been a resident in the neighborhood for 25 years, further revealed that Julian had just started kindergarten. She spoke highly of the siblings, saying:

"They were the sweetest little boys. They were so cute, and they thought going to school was the most fantastic thing."

Sharon reportedly revealed that fellow residents in the neighborhood heard a loud bang "like an explosion," and before they knew it, emergency responders were on the scene.

Once they heard the loud noise, the neighbors rushed outside to see what had happened, and that was when Sharon and fellow residents realized that the home that had caught fire was that of her friends, Jennifer and Vern. She divulged:

"Everybody came running of course to help---and god---we never realized to lose the two little boys, it's so sad what has happened."

One of the people who also rushed to the scene was a St. Charles Councilman, Joe Brazil, who recounted seeing the house up in flames during an interview in the aftermath:

"It was a huge fire. [...] There was so much smoke and then I saw the grandparents…the grandfather and he was full of soot and told me the kids were still in the house, it's terrible."

According to St. Charles County Police Department official Barry Bayles, law enforcement officers were called to Jamison and Julian's home at about 7:45 a.m. following reports of an explosion in the 2900 block of Highway 94, South in Defiance.

The police were the first to arrive on the scene, while firefighters arrived minutes later. A joint news release statement from Augusta, St. Charles County, and Cottleville fire districts revealed the New Melle 8914 fire crew was the first to respond at 8:01 a.m. But it was already too late as the house was engulfed in flames and covered in smoke.

New Melle Fire Protection District Chief Dan Casey divulged that firefighters attempted to access the home twice through windows in a quick search for Jamison and his brother Julian. However, they could not find them on time because of the fire conditions.

But when another rescue team accessed the house, they managed to find the boys, and the paramedics tried to resuscitate them. They were sadly declared dead at the scene.

Meanwhile, one of the three adults who survived the flames suffered a minor injury and received medical attention at the scene. In addition, the district revealed that a St. Charles County officer who was first to arrive at the scene also suffered a similar injury. At the time of the tragic incident, Dan, the fire chief, revealed that the cause of the fire had yet to be determined.

A GoFundMe has since been set up for the grieving family by The Defiance Merchants Association. Not only did Evelyn lose her children, but she and her parents lost the home they lived in together, including all their belongings.

Therefore, the organization raised funding on behalf of the family to pay for the kids' funerals as well as money to reclaim their lives. As of this writing, more than $152,000 has been raised out of the $200,000 goal amount.

According to the fundraisers, the young brothers Jamison and Julian were enthusiastic about life and brought happiness to those who knew them. Another Defiance resident, Laura Emerson, expressed, "Those boys were sunshine. [...] They were loved."

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