Mobile home fire in Va. kills 4

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CHURCHVILLE, Va., Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A fire in a mobile home in Churchville, Va., claimed the lives of four people, including a 9-year-old boy, police said.

One person survived.

The fire was reported around 10 p.m. Friday, newsleader.com, Staunton, Va., reported.

One person, identified as Lewis G. Stokes, 67, made it out of the home before firefighters arrived, Churchville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Craig Williams said. A second came out a few minutes later and was taken to a local hospital, but died in the ambulance on the way, Williams said.

Three people were found inside the home, he said.

"They were at one end of the home, and all the heat and smoke and fire were between them and the means of egress," Williams said.

Those who died in the fire have been identified as Charles E. Stokes Jr., 40, Sharon E. Stokes, 47, their son, Matthew J. Stokes, 9, and Wilda J. Stokes, 62, who was Charles Stokes' mother, police said Saturday.

"They were very special people. The little boy just loved his grandpa and grandma. Everywhere you'd see him, you'd see them," said Wanda Sprouse, Lewis Stokes' ex-wife and who remained close to the family.