FLORA, Ind.—An early-morning house fire in central Indiana killed four young sisters and sent their mother and two would-be rescuers to the hospital, authorities said Monday.
The fire at the home in Flora, about 60 miles north of Indianapolis was called in at around 3:40 a.m., said Todd Trent, an assistant chief of the local fire department.
A Carroll County sheriff’s deputy who was the first to arrive was overcome by smoke and heat while trying to reach the children in their second-floor bedrooms and was pulled from the burning home by a local police officer who also was unable to reach the kids, authorities said.
Firefighters who arrived a few minutes later were able to retrieve the children but couldn’t revive them, Trent said. He said all four likely died of smoke inhalation. Flora Police Chief Paul Redmon said the girls ranged in age from preschool to the sixth grade, WLFI-TV reported.
The children’s mother was on the first floor and survived. Trent said she suffered from smoke inhalation and may have had other injuries, and was airlifted to a hospital in Indianapolis. Her condition was not immediately known.
Angela Francis, an emergency medical technician who lives next door the home, said she was awakened early Monday by the mother’s screams.
“I heard the mom outside yelling and screaming,” Francis told the (Lafayette) Journal & Courier. “By the time I got over there, I was helping one of the ambulances with one of the officers.”
