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House fire kills 4, including 2 kids, near Detroit

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. - Children are among four people who died early Tuesday in a house fire near Detroit that was so intense that rescuers who rushed inside the home couldn't reach them in time, officials said.

Crews responded about 1:50 a.m. and the bodies were found upstairs in the two-story home in the Detroit enclave of Hamtramck, fire Chief Paul Wilk said. The fire was burning the rear of the home as firefighters arrived, he said, and crews worked in around zero-degree temperatures to extinguish the blaze.

Wilk told CBS Detroit the fire was too intense to go inside when they first got there.

"When our guys arrived on the scene, the back of the house was fully involved. They went into the front door and tried to get to the upstairs, but could not," Wilk told CBS Detroit. "They had to pull out and begin a defensive approach on the fire.

"This is very tragic for everyone," Wilk added. "And something where we have to worry about not only the family but the guys, the firefighters, and how it affects them in the future."

The Detroit Fire Department assisted putting out the fire and worked with the Hamtramck department on the investigation, the Detroit Free Press reported. Firefighters got about halfway through the downstairs of the home before they had to get out, Wilk said.

The four victims were trapped upstairs as flames engulfed the staircase, The Detroit News reported.

"We had a lot of help," Wilk told CBS Detroit. "It's just that sometimes more people doesn't always make a difference."

Smoke still rose from the rear of the house several hours after the fire was put out, the home's windows blackened and its roof caved in. The ground was covered in snow or packed ice, which hindered firefighting.

"Everything freezes instantly," Wilk said. "So it becomes slippery. But once we get inside, we try to do our job and work through it. That's what we do."

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