Three children are killed in a three-alarm house fire in Montgomery County.
"(Firefighters) certainly risked their lives to do what they could. At that point and time, right after the other firefighters arrived, the second floor was fully involved and the children were trapped, and there was no escape."
Five other people were injured, including another child who is in critical condition. Two Shenandoah police officers were treated for smoke inhalation.
"Our investigation is very early on. We're going to be assisted today.. we have fire investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; they're sending us a crew to assist. We have sheriffs detectives who are going to be working with us on scene."
Fire officials say it broke out around 4:00am on Johnson Road near Tamina.
"We don't have any speculation at this time. It's too early to talk about what started this fire. The focus of our investigation will be going forward and taking care of the surviving family members and determine as best we can what started this tragic fire."
In an unrelated incident, Chambers County officials have lifted an evacuation order for 100 homes in the Beach City area, following a major fire at a tank farm. Investigators blame it on lightning from a fast-moving overnight storm.
Photo courtesy of Montgomery County Fire Marshal