5 children die in fire

About 50 firefighters battled the blaze on a bitter cold night in Pulaski.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
PULASKI, Pa. -- Five children in an Amish family were killed when an intense fire destroyed their wooden-frame home.
Only four of the bodies had been found as of 7 a.m. today, said Kevin Hughes, an investigator for the Pennsylvania State Police.
Parents Rudy and Lizzie Wengerd and four other children escaped the blaze about 10 p.m. Tuesday. Police have not released the names of the children, who ranged in age from 3 to 16.
Some survivors were with relatives this morning, according to neighbors.
Most of the two-story home on Pa. Route 208 about a mile east of here collapsed into its basement, and firefighters were sifting through rubble with rakes and by hand at first light today looking for the fifth body and for evidence of how the fire started.
The parents were taken to Jameson Memorial Hospital in New Castle and released, said nursing supervisor Bonnie Appugliese. They had escaped from the house on their own and were taken by ambulance from the scene to the hospital, said Richard Show, Pulaski Township fire chief.
"Our initial call told us that we possibly had some people inside the building at the time of the fire," Show said, adding that much of the fire was in the basement.
House engulfed
As the first firefighters responded to the alarm shortly after 10 p.m., the house was engulfed, with fire coming from most of its windows, he said. "When we got here, it was an external attack on the fire. There was no internal attack to be made. There was no way to enter the structure," Show said.
A total of about 50 firefighters from the West Middlesex, Shenango Township, Pulaski, New Wilmington and Volant fire departments battled the blaze in bitter cold weather.
Route 208 was blocked for a while Tuesday night by firetrucks and a portable water tank. The road was slick with ice, which rapidly formed from the water used in firefighting.
Troopers from state police fire marshal's office were investigating at the scene. Besides state police, Pulaski, Neshannock, and New Wilmington police were present. The Lawrence County coroner was called to the home.
Neighbors said that the home had been built by the Amish about 30 years ago but that at some point it was converted into an English house -- a term to used to describe a modern home.
The family had moved into the home in August, neighbors said, and were in the process of removing some modern amenities.
The cause of the fire had not been determined. Though many Amish families use oil lamps and wood furnaces to light and heat their homes, Hughes said, electricity was hooked up to the house and it might have been in use.
The American Red Cross established a canteen to provide refreshments to emergency crews.
XCONTRIBUT0RS: Staff writers Laure Cioffi and Peter H. Milliken.