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6 Killed in House Fire in Rural Indiana, Officials Say | 6 Killed in House Fire in Rural Indiana, Officials Say |
(about 20 hours later) | |
Six people, including children, were killed in a fire that destroyed a family home in rural Indiana early Saturday morning, officials said. | |
Investigators have not yet positively identified the victims, Sgt. Stephen Wheeles of the Indiana State Police said on Sunday. | |
“We believe there were kids involved,” Sergeant Wheeles said. “As far as saying certain ages, it’s too early to say that.” | |
The victims have not been publicly identified. The fire happened in Vevay, a rural town on the Ohio River, about 100 miles southeast of Indianapolis. | |
The fire was reported shortly after 3 a.m. and might have started on the porch of the two-story family house, said David Hosick, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, which includes the State Fire Marshal. | |
By the time firefighters arrived, the house was fully engulfed, he said. A man, who had been visiting the house, was able to escape without any injuries. His identity was not released. | |
“He is going through a lot and being the lone survivor of something like this, you have to be careful that he is not overwhelmed with people reaching out to him,” Sergeant Wheeles said. | |
The cause of the fire remained under investigation, but the authorities said that there was no indication that it was intentionally set or that foul play was involved. | |
The house, on Lewis Drive, belonged to a family, but Mr. Hosick said officials did not know who was home at the time. | |
Josh South, who said he was a close friend of the family and who started a GoFundMe fund-raiser to help the family with expenses, declined to comment about the family for privacy reasons. | |
“Once the family has decided, they will release any info related to the this horrific tragedy,” he said in a Facebook message on Sunday. | |
Mr. Hosick said the last fire in the state he could remember of such a magnitude was in 2018, when six family members were killed in their home in Logansport. Four children died in the blaze, which was ruled accidental. | |
Mr. Hosick said the fire in Vevay was “going to hit these folks hard.” | Mr. Hosick said the fire in Vevay was “going to hit these folks hard.” |
Sargeant Wheeles said, “When you have that many people from one family group or one friend group perish in a fire, that is devastating.” | |
“We have fire personnel and police that responded who are having to deal with the aftermath,” he said. “It’s a rough situation all around.” | |
Johnny Diaz and Aimee Ortiz contributed reporting. |