Cleveland house fire kills four children; two others rescued by passer-by

The Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- Fire swept through a house early Tuesday, killing four children and injuring three other people, one who jumped from a second-story window and two boys who were pulled to safety after a passer-by broke a basement window, a fire official said.

The victims were all children, believed to be ages 3, 5, 8 and 15, said assistant fire chief Brent Collins.

The woman who jumped from the window hurt her leg and ankle, and the two boys suffered burns on about 30 percent of their bodies, Collins said. It wasn't immediately clear how the seven were related.

Firefighters found the 15-year-old girl in a second-floor bedroom and the other three victims on the first floor, Collins said.

The boys were pulled through the basement window by a passing motorist who broke a glass block window, Collins said. He said the fire was reported about 3 a.m. and appeared to have started in the basement.

Authorities were trying to determine the cause of the fire, which gutted the two-story home and scorched its white aluminum siding black. The house is in a neighborhood of mostly small bungalows.