PLAIN TOWNSHIP, OH — The state fire marshal's office is working to determine what started a house fire in Plain Township that killed a six-year-old, injured a four-year-old and sent a man to the hospital.
Neighbors noticed smoke coming from the home in the 2500 block of Cathy Drive NE just after 5 p.m. Friday.
Bryan Daniels, who lives across the street from the one-story home, said he went outside and saw the man who lives in the house collapse in the grass.
"I'm like who all's in there," said Daniels. "He's like, 'the girls."
Daniels said he ran to the back of the burning house and began spraying water on the fire, but couldn't get inside.
"It was just like fire coming from the ceiling, everything was falling down," said Daniels. "I couldn't see any of the kids there."
He said that's when firefighters arrived.
"The left side of the house was fully involved," said Plain Township Fire Chief Howard Hershberger. "They quickly knocked down as much of the fire as they could so they it was as safe as possible to enter. The crews entered, quickly searched and found both victims."
A four-year-old and a six-year-old were rushed to the hospital.
The Stark County Sheriff's Office said the six-year-old child died a short time later.
Authorities said at this time, the four-year-old child is listed as critical but is also stable, and the father is in stable condition.
The fire chief said a woman and another child who live in the home were outside and not injured.
The incident remains under investigation by the sheriff's office and the Ohio State Fire Marshal.
