NECEDAH, Wis. — A house fire in Wisconsin claimed the lives of six family members Monday, and investigators said early indications are that the blaze was accidental.
Emergency responders were called to a house fire in the community of Necedah around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a news release posted Monday on the Juneau County Sheriff's Office Facebook page. Fire crews and deputies arrived to find the home engulfed in flames. They encountered multiple people standing in the driveway who had escaped the flames and said others inside were unaccounted for.
Firefighters battled the blaze for three hours and subsequently located six victims in the rubble. Authorities have not released the names of those who died but said three were adults and three were juveniles.
Necedah is about 70 miles northeast of La Crosse.
Sheriff Andrew Zobal said in the post that the fire appears to be accidental but an investigation is ongoing. The State Fire Marshal's Office was called in to help in the search for a cause.
Wisconsin's State Fire Marshal operates as part of the state Department of Justice. Agency spokesperson Gillian Drummond said the marshal typically gets involved at the request of local police or fire departments to help determine a fire's origin and causes. There's no minimum dollar threshold for damage nor a requirement that foul play is suspected for the marshal to get involved.
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