NEW CARROLLTON, Md. — It was a surreal scene for the husband, daughter and three grandchildren of Anita Ellis, whose fire-ravaged home was surrounded by candles, camera crews and roses.
Everyone was there, except Anita.
One by one, mourners at a Monday night vigil placed flowers in front of her portrait, a giant photo laid against the old tree in her front yard.
The smell of charcoal and ash were still fresh, after a fire Saturday claimed Anita’s life.
"I’m going to truly miss my mom, because now, I won’t have a partner in life anymore," April Ruth told those who gathered to pay tribute to her mom, as she fought back tears and clutched a candle in the cold.
"No, we’re here for you!" the crowd shouted back. "We always got you, we’re here through everything," a voice said in the dark.
The fire on Inlet Street unearthed questions of proper staffing in local fire companies, with three of the closest volunteer fire stations unmanned at the time of the incident.
A fire fighter’s union said the first responding units were delayed, and the situation led Prince George’s County Fire and EMS to open an investigation.
"We are doing an internal review of how we utilize staffing within the agency, and we are looking at the challenge with the volunteer corporations that are struggling to maintain membership," PGFD Deputy Chief Brian Frankel said.
Fire officials said Sunday that the first unit arrived at the New Carrollton home in seven minutes. The response time exceeded the department’s goal of five minutes and 20 seconds.
Mourners traded stories of the 57-year-old's uncommon compassion. She was a school bus driver for Prince George's County, an employee who counted hundreds of children and colleagues as her friends through the years.
While a coworker joked about the two jockeying for better shifts, a parent in the crowd said she considered Anita part of her own family.
"She was a light," the Prince George's parent said. "What happened Saturday was so sudden, and we just want her back."