Three children have died and another was seriously injured after a Wisconsin house caught fire while the parents were away attending a Bible study, officials said Wednesday.
The oldest of the children, an 11-year-old girl died while trying to save two younger children ages 7 and 10, The Associated Press reported.
The 11-year-old girl was able to wake a fourth child, a 9-year-old girl and told her to run and get help. She was able to escape the blaze and ran to a neighbor’s house in the Sheboygan Falls community. The neighbor called 911 around 9 p.m. Tuesday night.
“Very preliminary information is that the 11-year-old was able to wake the 9-year-old and give a warning to flee the residence. The 9-year-old did, believing the others were following,” Sheboygan Falls Public Safety Director Steven Riffel said, AP reported. “The 11-year-old returned to assist the other two still upstairs, but none were able to flee the home.”
Firefighters pulled all three children from the house, but they died later at the hospital.
There were no adults in the home at the time of the fire, Mr. Riffel said, adding that authorities were investigating reports that the parents may have been at a church Bible study.
It is unclear whether the children were siblings or related in some way.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated. Mr. Riffel also said the smoke alarms in the house were working.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.