Authorities in Pennsylvania said they are still trying to determine the cause of a house fire that killed four children and their father Tuesday night.
The deadly conflagration burned for more than 2½ hours on a small street in Jeannette, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. The blaze scorched nearby cars and a neighboring house, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said.
Police and fire teams arrived shortly after a 911 call was placed at midnight. They rescued a woman and her two children, 1 and 10 years old, who were being treated at hospitals in Pittsburgh. The severity of their injuries was unclear, Carson said.
The five deceased people, whose bodies have been recovered from the home, are a 27-year-old man, his 1-month-old baby and three children, ages 7, 6 and 3. Carson said they all died of smoke inhalation. No one else was found in the home.
Fire teams took around an hour and a half to suppress the fire, Carson said. During that time, a firefighter sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
