A total of four children were killed in the fire at a home in Carroll County in Flora, Indiana. The mother of the children was seriously injured and two more officers were hurt during the rescue.
The fire broke out early morning at a home in the 100 block of East Columbia Street, confirmed the Indiana State Police. The four children were reportedly trapped inside the home and that they were ages 4 to 12 years old. All of them attended Carroll Elementary School.
Due to the severity of the injuries of the mother, she had to be airlifted from the scene to a hospital, CBS 4 reported. The children's names or genders have not been revealed yet.
Carroll Consolidated Schools released a statement about the matter on Monday. They said that their staff and students are struggling to deal with the devastating news that is why grief counselors will be available for two days from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
As for the two officers injured, Fox 59 reported that they were identified as Deputy Drew Yoder of the Carroll County Sheriff's Department and Officer Josh Disinger of the Flora Police Department. Yoder remained hospitalized due to burns on his hands and forehead, as well as smoke inhalations while Disinger has been released from the hospital.
According to Assistant Chief Derek Jackson with the Burlington Fire Department, they are still investigating what caused the fire. The fire was concentrated on the lower floor of the two-apartment home.
K9 units will reportedly be deployed in an attempt to sniff out the accelerants. They are not yet sure when they will be able to determine the cause of the fire. Arc Mapping will also be used as a method to determine what power failures occurred in the house at the time of the fire.
