Woman, son killed in Sedalia house fire

SEDALIA, Mo. -- A woman and her child were killed and another child injured in a house fire, Sedalia police said.

The fire Saturday killed Nicole R. Ortner, 35, and her son, Nicholas Preston, 4, police said. Another one of her children, Stephen Preston, 6, was taken to a Kansas City hospital, but his condition had not been released.

The state fire marshal's office was investigating the cause of the blaze.

It did not appear to have been deliberately set, said Capt. Mike Hawkins of the Sedalia Fire Department.

"We're looking at an accidental fire at this time, unless the fire marshal turns up something different," he said. "We don't suspect any foul play at this time."

Firefighters put out the blaze in about 10 minutes, he said.

Firefighters found one of the children in a bedroom and the other in the kitchen, Hawkins said. The mother was found in the dining room, he said.

Neighbor Lee Keeting said he called 911 after noticing the blaze when he came home from work about 4:15 p.m.

Another neighbor, Justin Gilmore, said he and his father had been trying to get into the house before firefighters arrived.