MASON CITY, Iowa – A house fire in northern Iowa on Wednesday left four children dead and two other people injured, authorities said.
The Mason City Fire Department was called to a residence at about 5:05 a.m. CST and observed flames coming from both floors of the two-story building, KIMT-TV reported.
According to the Des Moines Register, the four children killed were identified as John Michael Mcluer, 12, who was in the seventh grade at John Adams Middle School.; Odin Thor Mcluer, 10, who attended fourth grade at Roosevelt Elementary; Drako Mcluer, 6; who was in the first grade at Harding Elementary; and Phenix Mcluer, 3, who attended preschool at Hoover Elementary.
Fire officials said John Michael Mcluer, 55, and Ravan Dawn Mcluer, 11, a sixth-grader at Lincoln Intermediate School, suffered burns and were treated at an area hospital.
In a news release, Mason City Fire Chief Erik Bullinger said the fire was caused by an electrical power strip, WHO-TV reported. The blaze has been ruled accidental.
The children lost in the fire were all students at Mason City schools, school district administrative assistant Amy Graven told the Register. She called the children “great kids” who always smiled.
“It’s a huge impact,” Graven told the newspaper. “It’s like a family, not just within the buildings, but in the district as a whole.
“They were great kids, that’s all I can say. They were happy, they loved being at school, that was their happy place, all of them.”
A GoFundMe account has been established for the family. It has already raised more than $18,000 toward a $50,000 goal.
