FRUITHURST, Ala. (AP) - Firefighters in an eastern Alabama town say they tried to reach the people inside an intense house fire, but the heat was too much.
Two children died and several adult were injured in the Thursday fire in the Fruithurst community of Cleburne County, authorities said.
Fruithurst firefighters said they were notified of the fire at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday and arrived a few minutes later to find the home on U.S. Highway 78 engulfed in flames. Several people were trapped inside the house.
Crews tried to get in the house to reach the people inside but the fire was too hot, Fruithurst firefighter Randy Ginn told The Anniston Star (https://bit.ly/1kGCwwC ).
“I don’t know how many times we tried to get back in the house,” Ginn said. “They had two vehicles parked in the yard and just from the radiant heat, they caught on fire.”
A 911 call came from men passing the house on their way to work, said Chad Roberts, assistant chief of the Fruithurst Volunteer Fire Department. When firefighters arrived, the roof had collapsed on about half the house, he said.
The cause of the fire is unclear.
Those who were injured were taken to a hospital in Bremen, Ga.
Fruithurst is about 35 miles east of Anniston.
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Information from: The Anniston Star, https://www.annistonstar.com/
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