Two die in Putnam, Conn., house fire

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PUTNAM, Conn., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The bodies of two girls were found dead inside a Putnam, Conn., home damaged by a fire, a state police officer said.

The unidentified victims, sisters ages 3 years and 6 months, were found on the third floor of the large, five-family house, State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance said.

Four people were injured in the fire, which began early Tuesday and took 5 hours to extinguish, the Hartford Courant reported.

The mother of the girls, who is pregnant with twins, was initially taken to a local hospital but was transferred to the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass., Assistant Fire Chief Norm Perron said, adding that three residents suffering smoke inhalation were taken to a Putnam hospital.

Witnesses said the fire started on the top floor of the house, which Putnam Mayor Peter Place said was built in 1887.

Damage to the house was severe, a fire department spokesman said.

Perron added it was too soon to identify the cause of the fire.