Three children are dead after a house fire Tuesday night in Sheboygan Falls, including a 11-year-old who braved the fire to try to rescue younger family members and helped save a fourth child from the blaze, authorities there said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Sheboygan Falls Police Chief Steven Riffel said at an emotional news conference that was streamed live by WITI-TV. He expressed his sympathy for the victims' family members.
"Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with them in this most difficult time," Riffel said.
He declined to identify any of the victims, other than by their ages, saying that some family members may not have been notified yet of the deaths.
The fire at 507 Western Ave. was first discovered Tuesday night by the 11-year-old, who yelled "Fire! Fire!" to a 9-year-old in the house and warned the 9-year-old to run and get help, Riffel said.
That child told a neighbor, who called 911 around 9 p.m., and firefighters responded within minutes.
Riffel told the Journal Sentinel by phone after the news conference that the 9-year-old would not have made it out of the house safely if not for the 11-year-old.
Sheboygan Falls chief says 9-year-old who survived fire wouldn't have made it out safely if not for 11-year-old:
Emergency responders tried to gain entry to the house by breaking the door but were pushed back by the amount of smoke, Riffel said. Firefighters eventually were able to enter the house while fighting the fire and found the 11-year-old with two other children, ages 10 and 7.
They were brought outside and treated and then taken to a Sheboygan-area hospital, where the 7-year-old died. The injured 11-year-old and 10-year-old were flown to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, where the 11-year-old died early Wednesday. The 10-year-old was in "very critical" condition, Riffel said at the news conference, before getting word within the next hour that the 10-year-old also had died.
No adults were in the house at the time of the fire, Riffel said.
When asked at the news conference about the children's parents, Riffel said only that they were following up on reports that the parents were at a church Bible study at the time of the fire. He did not say whether the children were siblings or related in some other way.
The fire is being investigated with the help of the State Fire Marshal's Office.
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