FLORA , Ind., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Four children died in a house fire early Monday in Flora, Ill., and their mother and two police officers were injured, fire officials said.
The unidentified family was trapped in a fire which began around 3:30 a.m., Derek Johnson of the Burlington Volunteer Fire Department said. Smoke and flames were visible when firefighters and police arrived, and police helped put out the fire.
The Carroll County Sheriff said the youngest fatality was 4 years old, the eldest 13.
A woman, identified as the children's' mother, was transported by air to an Indianapolis hospital with unknown injuries. An injured police officer was identified as Drew Yoder of the Carroll County Sheriff's Department; he was transported to a burn unit in a Fort Wayne hospital with hand and facial burns. Injuries to another police officer, a member of the Flora Police Department, were not revealed.
The fire occurred in Flora, a town in northwestern Indiana near the city of Lafayette. The Indiana State Fire Marshal is investigating the incident.
