Fire In Central Pennsylvania Farmhouse Kills 7 Children

No cause or origin of the fire had been determined by early Wednesday morning, but the children’s grandfather, Noah Sauder, told The Associated Press the blaze may have started in the kitchen, where the family used a propane heater. Fire marshals were investigating.

The blaze tore through the home, exposing the interior and scorching the front, rear and side. A car parked beside the house was burned to the bare metal, its windows shattered.

Public records indicate the parents are Theodore and Janelle Clouse. A neighbor described the family as hard-working.

Police said the children’s father had left the two-story home on a working farm in dairy country not far from the state capital, to begin his rounds hauling milk around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Two children, ages 2 and 3, were watching television at the time.

The father picked up milk and then parked the truck about a mile from home before nodding off, state police Trooper Tom Pinkerton said.

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