On Thanksgiving Day, five people, including two children, lost their lives in a fire that consumed a mobile home in Ohio.
Around 7:30 a.m., Athens County volunteer firefighters responded to a call of a fire on Rainbow Lake Road, south of Athens, where they found two mobile homes engulfed in flames and a damaged outbuilding, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
Firefighters mentioned that one of the houses' roofs collapsed while it caught fire. Volunteers found five dead people inside. Brandon Klein, associate with the Department of Commerce, reported that a single occupant managed to escape and was taken to a local hospital.
Although the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, an extensive investigation is being conducted by the state fire marshal's office, the sheriff's office and the county coroner.
Five people, including two children, were killed in a mobile home fire in Ohio on Thanksgiving morning, authorities said. https://t.co/xY67BU6F8l
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 26, 2023
So far, the identities of the victims have not been revealed. However, according to reports, authorities confirmed the presence of two children among the deceased.
Richland Area Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dale Sinclair expressed the difficulty of dealing with any fatality, especially when it involves children. "Any kind of fatality, it's hard. When there's five and there's children involved, it adds to it," Sinclair said in a statement to AP News.
The emotional impact on volunteer firefighters was not overlooked. Sinclair noted that some of the officials knew the occupants of the mobile homes and announced the implementation of a briefing to provide mental health support and help to the entire team. "We've got a team coming in to meet with everyone and try to get as much mental health help as we can," the department head said.
