Mother, 4 young children killed in overnight Texas mobile home fire

VAN ZANDT COUNTY, Texas (KLTV/Gray News) - Four young children and their mother died following an overnight house fire, authorities said.

Van Zandt County Fire Marshal Kevin Palmer said firefighters were dispatched shortly after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday to a fire at a mobile home at 482 County Road 4127 with reports of people trapped inside.

Palmer said when crews arrived, three people had escaped on their own, but four children remained inside. Firefighters breached an exterior wall to get in and quickly located the four children.

Officials said three of the children were pronounced dead on scene and a fourth child was flown to a hospital. The children’s mother was also flown to the hospital. Officials later announced the child and mother died at the hospital.

The children were a 3-year-old girl and three boys, ages 5, 8 and 10. The family has not been publicly identified, however Canton Independent School District confirmed some of the children were students.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the loss of students at Canton Elementary and Canton Intermediate Schools. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, classmates, teachers, and everyone affected by this tragic loss,” the district said.

Two other people were taken by ambulance to the hospital as a precaution, Palmer said.

The Fire Marshal’s Office is in the early stages of investigating the fire.

When the Canton Fire Department got to the fire, the mobile home was half on fire, according to South Van Zandt Volunteer Fire Department Battalion Chief Jason Foster. He and his crew were called in as backup.

“As I got there, I went up to go in and help them search. They handed me the first one out. We pulled him out, started doing CPR immediately, and then they went in searching for the rest,” Foster said.

Foster said the fire was heaviest to the middle and right of the mobile home. The children were found inside a bedroom.

Foster says he’s been a firefighter for 28 years.

“Unfortunately, not my first time in a situation like this. But they never get any easier,” Foster said.

Foster says the fire was controlled in about 20 minutes.