There is a small room on the first floor of the Zigler family's Clairton house that 2-year-old Michael Zigler claimed for his own.

The youngest of six, Michael was mildly autistic and just learning to talk. In his little room, he watched his favorite television shows, "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Dora the Explorer," and played with Bailey the Bear and a musical cash register that sang out ABCs and 1,2,3.

Last Thursday night, Michael was not in his house, but a mile away at his aunt's home on Soltis Drive. Michael's parents, Shawna and Terry Zigler, and their children are close with Shawna's stepsister, Markell Finn-Faulk, and her four kids. On the weekends, the cousins frequently have sleepovers.

This particular week, Michael and his 17-year-old sister, Tiarra Williams, went to the Finn-Faulk residence a day earlier than usual because school was cancelled Friday.

So the Zigler household fell asleep Thursday night with a few beds empty.

The sound of neighbors banging on the front door woke Mr. and Mrs. Zigler at about 1 a.m. Friday morning. Ms. Finn-Faulk's house was on fire, the neighbors said, and children were trapped inside.

Mr. Zigler jumped in his car and sped the eight blocks to his sister-in-law's house while Mrs. Zigler stayed at home to watch her other children.

The blaze, which officials said probably started in the kitchen, was too strong for firefighters to reach the bedrooms upstairs to save Michael and his cousins Rachel Finn, 9, and Deausha Faulk, 6. The three children died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Tiarra, as well as Ms. Finn-Faulk and her daughter Essence Finn, 14, and son Daishawn Smith, 11, managed to escape the fire, but Tiarra and Daishawn required hospitalization.

On Monday, Tiarra lay under a white sheet in a bed on the sixth floor of Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, breathing with the help of an oxygen tube.

Her parents were with her, sitting next to her bed and making sure the doctors and nurses were keeping her comfortable.

"It's been hard," Mrs. Zigler said. "I barely sleep. I cry day in and day out."

For Tiarra, the last few days have been especially difficult, she said. Michael adored his sister, a junior at Clairton High School, and the night of the fire, she tried, unsuccessfully, to save her brother. But she could not, and now her voice is weak and raspy from the smoke damage to her lungs.

She's distraught, her mom said, and hasn't been able to talk about the night of the fire. Her parents said they are not pushing her.

"When this is all over, all our kids and ourselves are going to need a lot of therapy," Mrs. Zigler said.

At their house in Clairton, Michael's toys are still scattered, in the last place he played with them. His parents say they will keep all the toys in their home to keep Michael's memory present.

But the musical cash register, Michael's favorite, will be buried with their son. The family plans to have a wake for him today from 4 to 9 p.m. at Robert A. Waters Funeral Home in Clairton, and a funeral tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Clairton.

The wake for Rachel and Deausha will be tomorrow from 5 to 9 p.m. at Coston Funeral Home in East Liberty. A funeral will be held at the Good Hope Baptist Church next door at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Both families have said they are struggling to pay for funeral expenses. A fund has been set up through the Clairton City School District.

Donations can be sent to 502 Mitchell Ave., Clairton, PA 15025, with checks payable to Clairton City School District with indication the donation is for the fire victims' families.

"Without Pittsburgh helping out, we don't know where we would be getting the stuff to do this," Mrs. Zigler said.

She and Ms. Finn-Faulk plan to make a televised thank-you to people who have given their condolences and financial support.

The two families are close, Mrs. Zigler said, and are getting by on prayer and the help of others.

A friend of the family has made the two mothers gold necklaces with hearts inscribed with the faces of their children and the inscription "Always in my heart." Mrs. Zigler wore her Michael necklace at the hospital Monday.

"He will never be forgotten," she said. "He was our baby. He meant everything to all of us. And we will keep celebrating his birthday every year."

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