Tragic Fire in Athens County Leaves Five Dead
On Thursday morning, volunteer firefighters in Athens County, Ohio, rushed to the scene of a devastating fire at a Rainbow Lake Road address. The blaze had engulfed two mobile homes and caused damage to an outbuilding. The firefighters responded to the call at approximately 7:30 a.m., only to discover the tragic aftermath.
The Richland Area volunteer firefighters who arrived at the site reported that one of the mobile homes was ablaze with a collapsed roof. Upon further inspection, they found that five occupants inside the home had tragically lost their lives in the fire.
Brandon Klein, from the Ohio Department of Commerce, disclosed that only one person managed to escape the flames. This sole survivor was promptly taken to a local hospital by the emergency responders. As of now, the cause of the fire remains unknown, and an investigation is ongoing.
While the names of the victims have not yet been released, the state fire marshal’s office, in coordination with the county sheriff’s office and the county coroner, is actively involved in the investigation.
According to reports from WLWT-TV and WOWK-TV, two of the deceased individuals were children. Chief Dale Sinclair of the Richland Area Volunteer Fire Department expressed the difficulty of the situation, stating that “Any kind of fatality, it’s hard. When there’s five and there’s children involved, it adds to it.”
Sinclair also mentioned that some of the firefighters were acquainted with the victims and that a debriefing session was planned for the team to seek mental health assistance due to the emotional toll of the incident.
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