WARWICK, Mass. — A mother and four children were killed when a massive fire ripped through their western Massachusetts home early Saturday morning.
A 911 call was made around 12:45 a.m., and when Warwick fire crews arrived at the scene, they said an adult and child were running down the driveway away from the home.
Officials said the home was fully engulfed by the time they arrived and were initially told that everyone inside the home had been accounted for. At some point, official said, it was realized that there were five other people that were inside at the time, and they were unaccounted for.
At a news conference Saturday afternoon, town officials said the bodies of a mother and four children were located inside the destroyed home.
"We're a very tight bunch," Warwick fire Chief Ron Gates said. "Obviously this is tough on all of us."
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe the cause was a wood stove in the kitchen and believe it was accidental.
There are no fire hydrants in the community of about 800 people, and water needed to be brought in from about a half mile away.
"Windows were all blown out and the roof was caving in," Gates said. "We just didn't have a chance."
The identities of the victims have not been released.