FEBRUARY 21, 2015
WEST ALEXANDRIA, PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO (WDTN)
The town of West Alexandria in Preble County is heartbroken
after the loss of two children in house fire early Saturday morning.
Now a family must move forward after the loss of a son and a
daughter.
When we stopped by the burnt out house tonight, the family
had just finished putting up this memorial for the kids killed.
The fire happened very early this morning but news of it
traveled very quickly through town.
"Around here you know, you hear somebody got hurt,
their kids got hurt, everybody wants to know what happened? Who it was?"
said Beau Bradley who has lived in the area most of his life.
There's only a shell left of the house in the 3400 block of
U.S. 35.
Crews were called to the scene around 3:30 a.m. When they
arrived, part of the home had already collapsed, but no one knew about the two
kids in the basement.
"There didn't appear to be anybody home at the time. We
weren't quite sure, did a 360, no vehicle in the driveway down the lane. So we
were under the assumption that nobody was home,” said Jeff Shafer, the Fire Chief
for West Alexandria.
The nine-year-old little boy and his 10-year-old sister were
found in the basement.
Bradley has kids of his own and says his heart goes out to
the family.
"Small town, you know everybody. Even if I didn't know
her well, I know people that are related to her and you just feel it. It grabs
you, if it was your own how would you feel?" said Bradley.
Beau says he got a call from Twin Valley South Elementary
letting parents know about the tragedy. He says the community will do what it
can for the family.
"Anybody around here will help out. Again, terrible,
just I feel terrible for them," said Bradley.
Investigators haven't released the names of the two children
and there is no cause as to what started the fire.
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WEST ALEXANDRIA, OHIO
Two children have died following a
house fire in West Alexandria. It happened Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015.
West Alexandria crews were called to a home in the 3400
block of U.S. Route 35 just after 3:30 a.m. Units from Eaton, Lewisburg and
Gasper Township were also called in to assist.
When they arrived, part of the home had already
collapsed.
Investigators found the victims in the basement hours later.
Their names and ages haven't been released yet.
The house is a total loss. The cause of the fire is
under investigation.