A state trooper says a fire at a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania has killed seven children while their mother was in a barn milking cows and their father was taking a nap in his milk delivery truck.
According to Trooper Tom Pinkerton, the fire erupted Tuesday night in the home of Theodore and Janelle Clouse around 10 p.m. in Loysville, roughly 20 miles north of Harrisburg.
Seven of the couple's eight children -- Christiana, 11, Isabel, 9, Brady, 7, Hannah, 6, Heidi, 4, Maranda, 2 and Samantha, 7 months, died in the fire. Pinkerton says one child escaped after she saw smoke in the home and ran to the barn to alert her mother.
The trooper says Theodore Clouse left the two-story home to get his milk delivery truck. He drove a short distance to pick up milk and nodded off in the truck.
Janelle Clouse and the surviving 3-year-old ran down the road and banged on the truck's windows to let the father know their house was engulfed in flames, according to Pinkerton.
The Perry County Coroner's office confirms that all seven children died of smoke inhalation.
There is no word on what started the blaze.
The Church Of The Living Christ Of Loysville has set up a fund for the Clouse family. Donations can be made to:
Clouse Family Fund
c/o Church of the Living Christ
P.O. Box 180
Loysville, PA 17047
