Dad of 3 ‘Panicked’ and Left His Kids Inside Burning Apartment to Try and Get Help. He Was the Fire’s Sole Survivor

Wisconsin father Joshua Kannin told police he panicked after realizing his home was on fire and ran to get help, leaving his three children inside, according to a search warrant. He ultimately became the only survivor — and now the children’s mother is asking why he left without them.

Jourdan Feasby says she spent Thanksgiving morning with her three children — Rylee, 10, Connor, 9, and Alena, 7 — before dropping them off at their dad’s two-story apartment. Hours later, she learned her sons had died in a fire and her daughter had been hospitalized with severe injuries.

Feasby says that while she was at the hospital with Alena, who later died, she confronted Kannin.

“You wouldn’t grab the kids first?” she says she asked him, adding that “things weren’t adding up.”

Kannin told authorities that around 9:00 p.m. on Nov. 27, Rylee and Connor went to sleep in their upstairs bedroom. He went to bed about an hour later, saying his daughter was awake and in the same room at the time.

According to a search warrant, Kannin said that when he woke up a short time later — officials responded to the fire just before 11:00 p.m. — his eyes “felt cloudy.” He went downstairs and saw “a little fire on the kitchen floor.”

Investigators wrote that “Joshua stated he panicked and walked out the front door,” telling them he thought, “I have to get help.”

As he pounded on a neighbor’s door and screamed for assistance, he yelled for his children to come downstairs, the warrant states.

“I opened the door [to my residence] and I heard my kids. I tried to go back in, but smoke just came at me and I couldn’t see. I barely got two steps in and I had to turn back around,” Kannin was quoted as saying. “When I opened the door, it made it even worse.”

He also told investigators that before going to bed, he had smoked a cigarette in the kitchen by the sink but believed he put it out before falling asleep.

When first responders arrived, they found two children believed to be deceased — later identified as brothers Rylee and Connor — and a third child who was severely burned.

Feasby says the boys were discovered in the kitchen and dining area of the apartment. Alena, who was described in the report as being found either in the second-floor bedroom or near the stairwell, was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Kannin was also transported to a hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. Feasby says he was released the following morning.

In response to the release of the search warrant, the Kenosha Police Department issued a clarification about the status of the investigation.

The warrant indicated that investigators were exploring the possibility of arson and potential homicide. Under Wisconsin law, officers must identify possible criminal charges when applying for a search warrant in order to establish probable cause.

The search warrant made public was drafted on the night of the fire after a black Samsung cell phone belonging to Kannin was recovered at the scene. The phone was later searched in accordance with the warrant, and investigators said it did not contain any evidence of criminal activity related to the fire.

“As the investigation progresses, in conjunction with the Kenosha Fire Department, they will continue to methodically rule out all possible causes of the fire,” KPD spokesman Lt. Joshua Hecker said in a statement. “This is a complex and evolving case, and we remain committed to a thorough, impartial, and evidence-driven investigation.”

Funeral services for the three siblings were held on Friday. Feasby, who spoke about her children during the service, says Kannin attended but did not address those gathered. A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover funeral expenses.