Five children killed in South Bend, Indiana house fire

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (CBS) -- Five children died in a house fire Sunday night in South Bend, in one of the worst fatal fires in the city's history. 

The youngest of the victims was 17 months old, Fire Chief Carl Buchanon said at a news conference on Monday. He did not disclose the ages of the four others who died. In his 37 years of service, Buchanon said he could not recall a worse loss of life in a fire in South Bend. He said it could be the single worst fatal fire in the city's history, but he would have to review archives to be certain. 

According to the South Bend History Museum, five children and their grandmother died in a fire on April 18, 1929. On Dec. 17, 1944, six people died and 17 injured after a 3-alarm blaze gutted the Page Hotel.

"None of us could even imagine what yesterday entailed," Buchanon said. "Our hearts are low and feeling very saddened right now."

A sixth victim, an 11-year-old who was the oldest child inside, was transported by air to a pediatric burn center in Indianapolis. 

The children's father was home, but could not reach the children due to the severity of the fire. He escaped with minor injuries.

When firefighters arrived, the home in the 200 block of North LaPorte Avenue was engulfed in flames, with the children all trapped upstairs on the second floor. 

Despite intense flames and smoke, firefighters were able to locate the six children on the second floor. 

"They were working under brutal conditions," Buchanon said. 

One firefighter was injured when he fell from the second floor to the first. The fire department said he was treated at the hospital and is now recovering at home.  

"This incident last night was a horrific tragedy in our community," said South Bend Mayor James Mueller. "Of course, everyone wants answers. I wish we had more answers to share with you right now." 

The Indiana State Fire Marshal's office is assisting South Bend in their investigation. 

"They risked their lives a lot yesterday evening," said Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones. "It's tragic; there is no other way to put it. We are all affected by this. I don't have any words to make it better."

Late Monday, the community was rallying to help.

"I went and found him at the hospital, and he was in shock - you know? Went with him to identify his children, which was hard - prayed over them, and just told him, you know, 'If you need something, call me,'" neighbor Elijah Leciano, who lives nearby, told CBS affiliate WSBT-TV 22, "and he doesn't have anything."

Neighbors plan to set up a GoFundMe campaign to help the family and pay for funeral costs.

Jones said 80 Hoosiers were killed in fires in 2023.