Toddler remembered as jokester after dying in New Year’s Eve home fire

BUTLER, Pa. — Children’s toys still sit strewed about the yard of a home in Butler County, serving as a grim reminder of the beloved toddler that died in a fire on New Year’s Eve.

“I am devastated. You can’t describe it,” said Brianna Anthony.

>>>RELATED: 2-year-old boy killed, 2 siblings and father injured in Butler house fire

Anthony is remembering two-year-old Tristan Oesterling, calling him a happy baby and a jokester. He died after fire tore through his home. She said his father tried to rescue him several times.

“I was told he tried to run back in the fire twice, but the neighbors stopped him,” Anthony said.

Tristan’s brother, sister and father were also home at the time and were able to get out. Anthony said the children’s mother was at work when the fire broke out and is in disbelief that her baby is gone.

“We need a lot of prayers for the family right now,” Careen Joe Gibson said.

“We needed some counseling because we don’t deal with that everyday,” said Lt. Donald Crawford with the Butler Fire Department.

Crawford said while the cause of the fire still isn’t known, his crews are still struggling with what happened. He also said people need to use this an opportunity to check smoke detectors.

“Due to the damage inside the structure, we don’t know if they had smoke detectors or we couldn’t find any due to the damage. Smoke detectors save lives,” he said.

You can donate clothing to the family at 360 Chicora Road, Butler, PA 16001.

CLICK HERE to donate to the family online.

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