Community rallies around victims of fatal SW Ohio fire

Associated Press

KETTERING

A southwest Ohio community is collecting donations to provide clothes and Christmas gifts for survivors of four family members killed in a house fire.

Authorities confirmed Friday that the early-morning fire Thursday in the Dayton suburb of Kettering killed a woman, her two young sons and her father. The Montgomery County coroner’s office identified them as 4-yr-old Shaun Mobley Jr., 2-year-old Jacob Mobley, 36-yr-old Alicia Mobley and 76-year-old Forrest Carroll.

Three family members escaped from the burning house, which was destroyed by a fire marked by intense heat.

The Dayton Daily News reports staff at the Kettering schools are collecting money and plan a donation drive later this month to help the surviving man and two girls. More than $6,000 had been collected for a separate family fund by Friday evening.

Kari Basson, spokeswoman for Kettering City Schools, said the schools are trying to help with immediate family needs, while mourning their losses.

“Shaun was a joy to have in the classroom,” said Vivianne Hunt, the 4-year-old boy’s preschool teacher. “Shaun and his family were involved with our classroom and school activities.”

Investigators haven’t determined the cause of the blaze.

State Fire Marshal’s spokesman Michael Duchesne said investigators said there weren’t any working smoke detectors in the house.

He said the four fatalities make the fire Ohio’s second-deadliest this year. A man and five children were killed in a fast-moving mobile-home fire in Tiffin, in northwest Ohio, in September.