Five die in fire at apartment complex

COLUMBUS (AP) — Fire in an apartment complex killed five people early Saturday, four of them children, as water sprayed on the flames by firefighters turned to ice in bitterly cold weather.

Flames already were billowing from both floors of the two-story townhouses when firefighters arrived. Firefighters tried to force their way into the building but turned back when the structure started to give way, said Fire Battalion Chief Doug Smith.

Two children standing outside the building told firefighters that their relatives were trapped inside, Smith said.

“One child said she could hear one of the children screaming for about 30 seconds, and then that stopped,” Smith said. “That was all they heard after that.”

The child standing outside told firefighters she had been yelling to the trapped children, telling them to get onto the bed and escape through the window, Smith said.

“At least one of them was found on the bed. So it appeared that they were trying to get out,” Smith said. “They were probably overcome by the smoke and died trying to escape.”

He said the victims were a 40-year-old woman and four children ages 5, 7, 10 and 12. Authorities believe the victims may have been related. Some of the deceased children had the same last name, Smith said. No one else was injured.

The children’s bodies were discovered in two bedrooms on the second floor, and the woman was discovered in the first-floor kitchen, Smith said. Fire officials are investigating the possibility that the fire sparked in the living room, but the cause does not appear to be suspicious, Smith said.

At least three of the apartment complex’s 10 units were destroyed, and others sustained damage from flames, smoke and water, Smith said. He did not know how many people lived in the building.

Twenty-one firetrucks were sent to the blaze, said Fire Lt. Shannon Morrison.

The temperature was in the teens.

“A lot of the time the water, it was freezing to ice when it hit the pavement. We had to call for a salt truck,” Smith said.