Five Die In Farmhouse Fire Outside Of Republic, Ohio

Republic, OH – Five people have died during a farmhouse fire on Tuesday, according to Softpedia.

Authorities stated that the bodies recovered from the destroyed 130-year-old farmhouse were burned beyond recognition. However, police believe the home’s inhabitants were the individuals who perished in the blaze.

“We assume those are the ones recovered,” explained volunteer Fire Department Dean Henry.

The Inquirer explains that two adults and three young children under the age of 12 died in the fire. An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the fatal blaze.

The fire marshal’s office explained that the age of the house may have played a part in how quickly it took the fire to completely destroy the structure. Although the family had been living in the house since 2004, the building was constructed way back in 1880.

Officials stated that it would be difficult to determine which rooms the family died in since the structure collapsed upon during the fire.

According to the Toldeo Blade, Seneca East Elementary principal Brad Powers was devastated to hear the news about the children and their parents.

“What makes it so difficult is … not only are they our family, our students, but I’ve worked with this family since [the children] were preschoolers at the Family Learning Center in Tiffin. So, it’s been a pretty long connection [that] we’ve had,” he explained.

Neighbor Ryan Brown explained that the elementary school has gone above and beyond in their efforts to help students cope with the unexpected death of their classmates.

“It sounds like they did a good job talking to them at school,” he said. “I think it’s a good time to talk about fire escape plans and make sure all our smoke detectors are working.”

At present, it’s unknown what caused the farmhouse fire that claimed the lives of five people.