A Wisconsin father has been charged over a house fire that killed his three young children, with investigators alleging he fled the home while they were still inside.

Joshua Kannin, 39, is facing multiple child neglect charges after the deadly blaze tore through his Kenosha home on Thanksgiving last year.

Emergency services were called to the property on November 27, 2025, after Mr Kannin, reportedly wearing only his underwear, rang authorities pleading for help.

Inside the home, firefighters found brothers Rylee, 10, and Connor, nine, on the first floor. Both died at the scene. Their sister Alena, seven, was discovered upstairs and rushed to hospital with burns covering about 80 per cent of her body, but later died.

According to a criminal complaint, obtained by New York Post, the fire quickly “fully engulfed” the house.

Mr Kannin allegedly told police he had been smoking before going to bed and woke suddenly in the night, unsure whether it was due to his “cat making noise” or smoke.

He said he went into the kitchen, where he noticed a “little fire” before he “panicked and walked out the front door.”

“At that moment, he thought to himself, ‘I have to get help,’” police said.

Mr Kannin claimed he attempted to re-enter the home but was overwhelmed by smoke.

“I barely got two steps in and I had to turn back around,” Mr Kannin told police. “When I opened the door, I made it worse.”

Investigators later found there were no working smoke detectors inside the home. Mr Kannin allegedly said the alarm had been removed because it would frequently “malfunction” and randomly “make sounds.”

Authorities also noted windows had been boarded up to “prevent burglaries”, according to WITI.

Court documents indicate the fire likely started in the kitchen, with a stovetop burner believed to have been left on. Investigators also found evidence suggesting two of the children may have been trying to prepare food before the blaze began.

The children’s mother, Jourdan Feasby, told CBS58, the home conditions were unsafe, describing her ex-partner’s residence as “disgusting” and “fend for yourself in a sense.”

“I was on him about not having the smoke detectors, I let his mother know who cleaned his house once a week that there were no smoke detectors, I let the landlord know there were no smoke detectors,” Ms Feasby told the outlet.

Grieving the loss of her children, Ms Feasby said she feels like she’s “just a shell” and that part of her died with them.

“It’s just been pure hell for myself and my family. I’m literally living my worst nightmare,” she said.

Authorities have ruled the blaze an “accidental common household fire” and said there is no evidence it was deliberately lit.

Ms Feasby said she feels “bittersweet” about the charges laid against her ex Mr Kannin but is determined to see accountability, saying there must be “serious repercussions.”