2 CHILDREN DIE, THEIR GRANDPARENTS CRITICALLY INJURED IN SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI HOUSE FIRE. PROPANE BOTTLES EXPLODED, MAKING THE FIRE DIFFICULT TO CONTAIN.
Monday, February 02, 2015
POPLAR
BLUFF, Mo. (AP) -
Two
children from southeast Missouri are dead and their grandparents are critically
injured after a house fire in Poplar Bluff.
The
fire broke out about 5:30 a.m. Sunday. The cause is under investigation but
Fire Chief Ralph Stucker says several propane bottles inside the home exploded
during the fire, making the blaze difficult to contain.
Three
children were spending the night with their grandparents. Two of the children
died - 10-year-old Phoenix Brannon and his 7-year-old brother, Jayden Brannon.
A 3-year-old brother was rescued by the grandfather, Danny Pierce, and was
unhurt.
Stucker
says Pierce suffered burns when he went back into the home to try and save the
other boys. Pierce and his wife, Erma, are hospitalized in St. Louis.
Autopsies
on the children were planned for Monday.