‘Just no words’: Family says mother, 3 children killed in fire

CARROLLTON, Ky. (WAVE/Gray News)— Six hours after Kentucky firefighters arrived, smoke was still rolling out of the smoldering rubble of a family home in Carrollton.“

Still inside, according to relatives, was a mother and her three children.

“Just no words,” Nettie Hearn said. “We love them. We love them very much.”

Hearn is the mother’s aunt. She said she got a call at 5 a.m. Thursday with the terrible news. She and her daughter came to the scene hoping to learn more about how this could have happened.

“Everyone is still reeling it in a bit,” Sandra Cain, a cousin of the victims, said. “It just hasn’t sunk in yet because we know they are there in the structure.”

Carrolton police say firefighters got to the scene Thursday morning in the 200 block of 5th Street in 6 minutes. The house was already engulfed in flames.

A 3-year-old girl was the only one who survived. She was taken to Carroll County Memorial Hospital before she was later transferred to a hospital in Louisville.

Her condition is not known at this time.

“When officers arrived at the rear door, the 3-year-old was near the rear door of the residence, collapsed on the floor.” Carrollton police Detective Dave Roberts said. “The officer was able to get in just enough in order to get the 3-year-old.”

The house collapsed.

As of Friday morning, two bodies had been located at the scene, and “recovery efforts will continue to methodically search the structure for any remaining victims,” according to the Carrollton Police Department.

Multiple agencies are helping in the effort and investigation, including the Kentucky State Police arson investigators and Kentucky State Coroners Mass Casualty Unit.

“What I want for this is we need prayers for our family and we want our family to be able to cling together through all this,” Cain said.