MADISON, Ark. (AP) -- Three children died early Friday in a house fire in eastern Arkansas, though the mother was able to rescue an infant sibling from the flames.
The four-bedroom brick home was engulfed in flames when emergency crews arrived, Madison Police Chief Jonathan Parks said.
Parks said the baby is 6 months-old. The ages of the children who died was 13, 10 and 4.
Parks said he knew the children well, as did most other people in the town of about 1,000 residents. The chief said the children went to schools in nearby Forrest City.
Parks said he received a call about the fire at 1:50 a.m. and it took about an hour for firefighters to douse the flames. He said investigators from St. Francis County had not yet been able to tell where the fire started. Firefighters saw flames pouring from a kitchen window and smoke throughout the house.
------
The chief has not released the names of the family members. He said the mother will have to start over, having lost so much. He said the mother was badly affected by the tragedy, but her own mother lives in town and they are staying together.
Parks said he would meet with family members later Friday and see how to go about helping the mother get clothes and other belongings that need to be replaced. As Parks put it, "Everything is gone."
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
