Neighbors were used to the routine for the family of four on the Far West Side.

Jeni Dickerson would back the Ford Escape out of the driveway early in the morning to begin her day. She worked at a day care.

The truck would be the next vehicle to leave the house in the 5100 block of North Cherry Creek Parkway. Dickerson's mother, Connie Moore, would take the youngest family member, 16-year-old Abigail Dickerson, to school at Westland High School.

"We'd see them everyday," said 68-year-old Paul Rogers, who lived a couple doors down. "They were just a normal family. ...They were just quiet people who went about their lives."

On Friday, the vehicles sat parked near the split-level home. Bulky fire hoses led to the charred remains of the home as firefighters worked to put out smoldering embers. The house had contained many items inside.

Investigators are trying to determine what started a fire early Friday at the rear of the split-level home which gutted the interior and burned through the roof. The three women had to be pulled from the house by firefighters.

Moore was taken to Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center and was declared dead there. Jeni and Abbey were taken to Mount Carmel West hospital, where they died, said Columbus fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin.

"We're just amazed -- stunned that the three of them are gone," Rogers said. "Yesterday was just great and today, it's like somebody emptied the basket out. Everything's just upside down."

Their deaths increased the total number of people killed in fires in Columbus this year to eight. In 2016, there were a total of 11 fire deaths in the city.

The father of the family, Ted Dickerson, was the only one who made it out. One neighbor said he was covered in soot. He was treated at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital-Columbus. The family's two dogs died inside, according to investigators.

Dickerson's family has lived in the neighborhood for decades. Before Dickerson married, he lived in the blue house next door with his parents.

"I babysat Ted when he was five years old," said Evelyn Idleman, 68, a neighbor.

His parents would later divorce and move to Kentucky. He would meet Jeni, marry and buy the cream home with blue shutters next door nearly 19 years ago, according to neighbors.

"Sometimes Ted would come over and tell us if something was going on in the neighborhood," Idleman said. "He kind of watched out for us because we're older. They were a nice family. It's just sad."

The fire was reported to 911 by a neighbor at 2:59 a.m.

"It's really bad. ... I can see the flames. How quick can you get here?" the neighbor asked the 911 dispatcher. "Oh, my god. It's bad. It's going to come over our fence."

The caller told the dispatcher that her husband went next door to see if the family made it out. The minutes it took firefighters to arrive seemed agonizingly slow to neighbors helplessly watching the flames and hearing popping from numerous items inside igniting.

"Is Jeni OK?" she asked her husband before asking the dispatcher, "How long's it going to take them to get here? ... Sir, there's still people in the house. ... Please, how long is it going to take to get here?"

Firefighters were dispatched at 3 a.m., arrived in five minutes, and had the fire contained by 3:22 a.m.

Friday afternoon, an Irish flag mounted to a mailbox near the front door, untouched by the flames, continued to flap in the wind. The flag was a reminder of Abigail's love of Irish dancing.

Joshua Cherup, a school counselor at Westland High where Abigail was a sophomore, said she was passionate about her heritage as well as music. She was going to sing in the choir for the upcoming school production of "The Little Mermaid." She was also part of the color guard with the school's marching band. She was an advocate for gay rights.

"The school's really impacted by her loss. We think of Westland as a family," he said." It came as a shock."

bburger@dispatch.com

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