House fire in the US kills five children while father was out Christmas shopping

A small, close-knit community in Arizona is reeling after the bodies of five children – a girl and four boys – were found in a bedroom of a home in Bullhead City that was razed by a fire on Dec 16.

Four of the children were siblings, reported KTVK 3TV News in Phoenix. The girl was aged four and three of the boys were aged two, five and 13. The fifth child, a family relative who was visiting at the time, was an 11-year-old boy.

Their names are being withheld pending official identification by the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office, Fox Phoenix reported.

According to 3TV, the Bullhead City Police Department said the deaths took place when the children’s father had gone out to do some Christmas shopping and left them at home for about 2½ hours. During that time, there was no other adult at home.

The fire is believed to have broken out just before 5pm, local time.

Investigators believe the fire started at the ground floor of the home before moving up to the only staircase in the house. This had prevented the children from escaping.

Neighbours of the family had reportedly placed an extension ladder near to the bedroom that was upstairs but were not able to rescue the children.

The police added that the five bodies were found in the same bedroom of the home.

Various US media reported that a Bullhead City Fire Department employee was the grandfather of the victims, and teams from Lake Havasu City Fire Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been deployed to help the police’s investigation.

Bullhead City Police Chief Robert Trebes said investigators are “working tirelessly to get answers” about why the fire broke out and “bring some closure and peace to parents and families involved”.

In the wake of the tragedy, dozens of flowers and stuffed animals lined a fence around the charred remains of the home which is located in a city which has a population of about 42,000, according to US Census estimates.

A neighbour, Mr Patrick O’Neal, described the community to 3TV as one where “everybody looks out for each other”.

He was one of those who rushed over when they saw the home had caught fire. More than 10 men gathered hoses and broke windows to try to get into the home. Mr O’Neal said they knew children lived at the home but did not know if they were home.

“We were screaming at the top of our lungs,” he said, adding that they had seen and heard nothing.

Another resident, Shawn Jacobson, told Fox Phoenix: “I mean, that’s five innocent children that had nothing but the lives ahead of them.

“You don’t process that, it doesn’t make sense, you can’t put rationality to this situation, there’s no way you can tell yourself it’s going to be OK. It’s not OK.”