GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- A fast-spreading fire gutted a wood-frame home, killing seven family members ranging in age from 3 to 74, authorities said Thursday.
``This is 28 years in the business for me, and this is the worst,'' Grand Rapids fire chief Mike Burton said.
The 1 1/2-story home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, and it appears the family had little chance of escaping the swift flames. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
As firefighters returned to the scene Thursday, the light of day revealed a charred shell of a building with broken-out windows and a missing front door that exposed the blackened interior.
``We simply don't have any survivors to tell the story of what happened,'' Burton said. ``We're starting from scratch on this.''
Roy Torres, 30, a neighbor in the middle-class neighborhood, said he looked outside and there were flames ``coming right out the front, really big, really huge.''
It was unclear whether the home had working smoke detectors. Firefighters did not hear any, fire battalion chief Gerard Salatka said.
The victims were identified as Candida Muniz, 74; Joseph Novakowski, 49; Natividad Novakowski, 26; Angelina Novakowski, 14; Jolene Novakowski, 12; Austin Andresiak, 4; and Darien Andresiak, 3.
``It's real rough. This is just unreal for everybody,'' said Raelynn Kaminski, whose uncle and cousins were among those killed.
Angelina and Jolene attended nearby Westwood Middle School, Principal Raul Ysasi said. Their grandmother volunteered every day as a teacher's aide.
``She was just a joy to have around,'' Ysasi said. ``She made you think, wow, when I'm 70, am I still going to have this passion, this energy to help people?''
Ysasi and members of the school's crisis team went room-to-room Thursday morning to inform students of the deaths. The children were given time to talk about what happened and write messages of condolence.
