4 bodies found in Ohio home where kids visited grandma

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — Four bodies were pulled Friday from the burned-out remains of a home where three children were staying with their grandmother for Christmas, a fire marshal’s spokesman said.

Spokesman William Krugh said firefighters were still at the scene trying to determine what might have caused the blaze, which was reported just after 4 a.m. The single-story ranch-style house was destroyed.

Firefighters had sifted through the smoldering debris to try to find the four missing people.

Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanford said family members were being informed of what he called “just a tragic, tragic” fire. He didn’t have the ages of the children who were spending Christmas night at their grandmother’s house.

No identifications have been released.

“To lose three children and a grandparent, it’s devastating to the family,” Stanforth told The Associated Press by telephone before the bodies were found. “The fact that it’s the holidays makes it even worse for the community.”

County and local fire departments are at the scene with the state fire marshal’s investigators near Washington Court House some 40 miles southwest of Columbus.