Pennsylvania

3 Family Members Die as Fire Burns Through Chester County Mobile Home

UPDATE: Police identified the family members killed as a mother, her sister and her daughter.


Three woman -- family members -- grieving the death of a Chester County homeowner died as fire tore through the mobile home Monday.

Two children and two adults escaped the blaze that broke out around noon in the double-wide trailer along Hill Road in West Caln Township, Pennsylvania.

Seven people, all related, were in the home when the flames broke out, West Caln police Chief Curt Martinez said.

"That thing was long gone before the fire department got here," said Art Latori.

The names of the victims were being withheld until other relatives could be notified, he said.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation and neighbors said the home's owner died on Sunday and the family members were at the home Monday.

A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said she spoke to a family member.

"She said the front porch is where she thought the fire started," said the neighbor. "She said her two aunts and a cousin were killed in the fire because they couldn't' get out through a hole the uncle and the two children got out."

The fire isn't considered suspicious, but an investigation into the cause of it continues, Martinez and Wagontown fire Chief Todd Ziegler said.

The weather was a factor in fighting the flames because conditions were ideal for the spread of fire, Ziegler said, with temperatures in the 80s, low humidity and wind gusts of more than 20 mph. The National Weather Service had issued a red-flag alert for the region due to fire danger. Flames spread from the home to nearby woods but were extinguished.

The remnants of the dwelling still smoldered late Monday as neighbors looked on.

"My heart kind of fell out of my chest when I heard about it," neighbor Chris O'Hagan told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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