Share and Follow
Inset: Janaina P. Ferreira (North Charleston Police Dept.). Background: The South Carolina apartment complex where Ferreira allegedly ran an illegal day care (Google Maps)
In a troubling incident in South Carolina, a 30-year-old woman has been accused of running an unlicensed day care from her residence and allegedly leaving eight young children unattended in an apartment that subsequently caught fire. The authorities have identified the woman as Janaina Pio Ferreira, who now faces eight charges of unlawful conduct toward a child, as confirmed by North Charleston officials.
The North Charleston Police Department released details of the incident, which occurred on Thursday, March 12, at around 2:30 p.m. Responding to reports of a fire, officers and firefighters were dispatched to the Arbor Square Apartments, located on the 2600 block of Otranto Road North. Upon arrival, emergency personnel found eight children inside the smoke-filled apartment, with no adults present to supervise them.
Fortunately, the apartment’s fire suppression system activated in time to extinguish the fire, preventing any injuries to the children, according to the police statement. This quick response was instrumental in ensuring the safety of the children, even before the firefighters made it to the scene.
Shortly after emergency services arrived, Ferreira returned to the apartment with several more children in tow. Her arrival raised further questions about the nature of her child care operations and the circumstances leading to her leaving the children alone.
A short time after authorities reached the scene, Ferreira, the resident of the apartment where the fire started, arrived back at her home “with several additional children.”
Authorities say they determined that Ferreira had been “operating an illegal day care from the apartment” and was responsible for caring for the children but had left them unattended inside the residence while the fire broke out.
Authorities later took Ferreira into custody and booked her on eight counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, one charge for each child allegedly left inside the apartment during the fire, according to the police news release.
Police did not immediately disclose the ages of the children in the home or how long they were allegedly left unattended.
After the children’s parents were contacted about the incident, Ferreira was taken into custody at the scene and transported to the Al Cannon Detention Center for processing.
“The North Charleston Fire Department conducted their investigation and concluded that the fire was due to a faulty aftermarket knob to the stove,” the release said. “NCPD and NCFD are currently collaborating on an ongoing investigation.”
According to a report from local ABC affiliate WCIV, investigators said they believe one of the children left a backpack on top of the stove, which then caught fire.
“Kids, sometimes play with fire, sometimes they play with stoves, sometimes they turn on stoves,” NCFD Chief Deputy Christian Rainey told the station. “We could have been having a totally different talk today — a totally different story.”
Tiffani Lockwood, who owns and operates a nearby child care center, said she did not understand how a parent could choose to send their children to illegally operated facilities.
“You’re really playing Russian roulette with your kids,” she said.
Ferreira is currently being held on $200,000 bond, $25,000 for each charge, records show. She is scheduled to appear in court for her first appearance on May 1.