3 young siblings killed in house fire

One of two girls who jumped from an upstairs window was hospitalized.

SIDNEY, Ohio (AP) — A house fire killed three children and their bodies were buried inside when part of the structure collapsed into the basement, a fire official said Wednesday.

Five other people escaped when the fire broke out late Tuesday, Fire Chief Stan Crosley said.

Javaun Griffith, 3, and his 2-year-old twin sisters, Ellianna Griffith and Jada Griffith, were killed, Crosley said. The house was their aunt and uncle’s, and they had been staying there temporarily with their mother. The mother was on an errand at the time of the fire, Crosley said.

Their bodies were recovered with the use of heavy equipment and sent to the Montgomery County coroner’s office in Dayton.

The house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and sections began collapsing a short time later, officials said. Several passers-by tried but were unable to enter the house, the officials said.

Neighbor Hulen Clark said a teenager came to his door Tuesday night.

“He asked me to help him because their house was on fire and he couldn’t get back in,” Clark said. “He said there were children in there.”

Clark and the teen ran back to the burning home, but the blaze was “sky high” and there was no way the two could get in, Clark said.

The aunt, Tracey Copeland, and four of her children escaped the fire. Her husband was at work.

Two girls, ages 14 and 12, jumped from a second-floor window. Copeland and her sons, ages 18 and 9, fled through a back door, according to the fire department.

Only 14-year-old Stephanie Copeland had to be admitted to a hospital, fire officials said. Her condition was unavailable.

The house is in an area of western Ohio’s Shelby County, about 35 miles north of Dayton, that has no fire hydrants, and a tanker shuttle was used to fight the blaze, Sidney Fire Lt. Cameron Haller said.

Icy conditions hampered efforts by firefighters, and salt trucks were used in the area in front of the house.

Cause of the fire has not been determined.