Prayers made before house where 5 died demolished

YOUNGSTOWN — Just before it was demolished today, the house where five children died in a December fire at their 434 Parkcliffe Ave. home was declared holy ground.

The landlord of the home arranged for a private contractor to demolish the house.

A group of community members and the father of the children, Charles Gunn, gathered just before crews knocked the house down to pray and anoint the ground with oil in memory of the children.

The cause of the fire is listed as accidental