By AP/KWMU
Steele, Mo – Five children died Thursday in a house fire in the Bootheel town of Steele, Mo. The children were between one and seven years old.
Officials say 18 people were asleep in the house Thursday morning when the fire broke out; the five who perished were in an upstairs bedroom. Three adults were injured.
Police Chief Michael Tomlinson says the children's grandmother awoke and began screaming for everyone to get out. He says there were no smoke detectors in the house.
Investigators are looking for the cause of the fire.
The victims are identified as: Antonio Amerson, 7; Jerome Finley, Jr., 5; Destiny Kinnon, 3; Malik Marquan Amerson, 2; and Shayla Adrianna Amerson, 21 months.
Tomlinson identified those in the house as two grandparents, two daughters, 12 grandchildren, the father of three of the children, and a family friend.