House fire kills 3, injures 1 in Johnstown, Pa.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A woman, her live-in boyfriend, and her daughter were killed in a house fire that remained under investigation Monday, a coroner said.

The fire in Johnstown killed Jeanne Hotter, 49, Hamilton Pringle, 50, and Brittany Hotter, 19, said Cambria County Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski. The house was located on a street near Memorial Medical Center in the city about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh.

All three died of toxic-smoke inhalation, with severe burns as a contributing cause in the couple’s deaths, the coroner said. The couple had to be identified using dental records, he said.

Brittany Hotter suffered second-degree burns on 75 percent of her body but was identifiable, the coroner said.

All three victims were pronounced dead when their remains were found in the house early Monday.

The fire was reported about 12:30 a.m., and Brittany Hotter’s body was found less than 90 minutes later in a rear bedroom. Jeanne Hotter and her boyfriend were discovered dead about 3:15 a.m., at the bottom of a stairwell leading from the second floor to a first-floor living area.

A state police fire marshal and accelerant-sniffing dog were searching for clues to the cause.

The coroner said Jeanne Hotter’s 17-year-old son, Kirk, was taken to nearby Memorial Medical Center, but his condition was not immediately available.