Virginia House Fire Kills 3 Small Children

A toddler and two infants have died in a house fire in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Media outlets reported that dispatchers received a call about the fire at about 1 a.m. Saturday. Deputy Fire Chief Mike Stockton said firefighters found flames coming out of nearly half the house.

A 3-year-old boy was quickly found and was taken by ambulance to Maryview Hospital, where he died. Stockton said 9-month-old twins -- a boy and a girl -- died at the scene. The 3-year-old was their cousin.

"You speed through life so fast that you just lose the precious times you have with your babies," said Evelyn Hasty, mother of the cousin. "Just slow down."

Stockton said two adults were in the home at the time of the fire were not seriously injured.

Jalisa Douglas, the mother of the twins, said she first smelled smoke and then saw "black smoke" in the home.

Stockton said clothing was ignited by an extension cord plugged into a space heater, and the fire spread from there. No firefighters were injured.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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