Cincinnati fire kills 3 children; parents escape

updated 4:32 p.m. ET Nov. 24, 2008

CINCINNATI - Three children, all under the age of 10, were killed when a fire swept through their house early Monday, fire officials said.

The children's parents escaped. Their father jumped off the porch roof of the two-story house and was trying to coax one of his children to do the same when the roof collapsed, fire Capt. Mike Washington said.

"When one of the battalion chiefs arrived in his car, he saw the girl on the roof of the porch," he said. "She was lost in the fire."

The family's names were not available, but fire officials said they believed the children's ages were 2, 5, and 9. Their father was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Two fire crews arrived at the house in Cincinnati's Lower Price Hill neighborhood around 2:30 a.m. about two minutes after a series of 911 phone calls, Washington said. More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze.

"We fought hard," Washington said. "It was an intense fire and it was a valiant effort on the firefighters' part."

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

More from msnbc.com Faces of Elkhart: Restaurateur reinvents himself More personal stories of struggle and recovery Electric cars poised to jolt auto industry Field Notes: Reporter recalls JFK Jr. tragedy Jews attacking Jews in the Holy City of Jerusalem Obama on health care policy: ‘No free lunch’

MORE FROM LIFE

Life Section Front

NYT: When is it OK for kids to run around naked? Calif. budget talks stall over school funding Hurricane preparations factor in recession   Man: Mountain lion no match for chainsaw Feds: HIV doesn't block barber, masseuse licenses Willis who? Sears Tower gets new name He did it! Teen finishes solo sail around world NY hospital warns of possible hepatitis risk He can wiggle fingers of his transplanted hands Boaters pushed to register locators Life Section Front   Add Life headlines to your news reader: