Five children, including 1-year-old twins, died in a late-night fire that swept through a house after neighbors were awakened by a loud boom, firefighters said.
The only survivor was the children's mother, who jumped out of a second-floor window Sunday night, according to Youngstown Fire Capt. Kurt Wright.
The other three children who died were ages 9, 3 and 2, he said.
Bob Sharp with the Ohio State Fire Marshall's office stands near a home after a deadly fire in Youngstown, Ohio, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. Authorities report that several children died in the fire. (William D. LewisThe Vindicator via AP)
State and local investigators were just beginning to search for a cause of the deadly blaze. Fire officials said so far, there's nothing that indicates the fire was suspicious.
Most of the damage was on the home's first floor, leading investigators to believe that's where the fire started, Wright said.
Deborah Rivera, who lives across the street, told the Youngstown Vindicator she heard a loud boom and called 911. Her boyfriend, Justin Viera, said flames were shooting out of the first-floor windows.
Melissa Thomas, right, wipes away a tear as her daughter Elissa Simione looks on near the scene of a deadly fire in Youngstown, Ohio, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. Authorities report that several children died in the fire. (William D. LewisThe Vindicator via AP)
Neighbors told WFMJ-TV the family had just moved into the house about six months ago. The two-story wood home was built more than 90 years ago.
"We have a relatively young department and most the guys have children. So it hits pretty hard and the fact that it's so close to Christmas hits even harder," said Youngstown Fire Chief Barry Finley.
Firefighters found flames throughout the home's first floor when they arrived and were able to pull out three of the children, but they died at a hospital, Wright said.
Police tape marks off part of the scene after a deadly fire in Youngstown, Ohio, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. Authorities report that several children died in the fire. (William D. LewisThe Vindicator via AP)
The mother was taken to a hospital and is being treated for injuries, he said.
One firefighter was treated at the scene and another was taken to a hospital for treatment and released.
A memorial to the children was beginning to grow outside the home
Melissa Thomas did not know the victims, but stopped with her daughters Elissa and Marissa Simione to drop off stuffed animals in honor of the children.
"I got two kids," she said. "I can't imagine five."
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.
Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).
Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.
That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.
In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.
Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.
In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.
“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.
Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.
It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.
“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.
It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.
While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.
“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.
Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.
Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
