INDIANAPOLIS --
Two people were killed and four others were injured in a house fire early Wednesday morning on Indianapolis' north side, officials said.
Jacqueline Love, 44, and her great uncle, James Maye, 84, died in the blaze in the 200 block of 37th Street, near Capitol Avenue, 6News' Julie Pursley reported.
Relatives said Jacqueline Love was trying to get Maye out of the home when both of them succumbed to the smoke and flames.
Yvette Williamson and a man whose name wasn't released were injured and taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital, where Williamson was listed in critical condition. Two other people -- Jimmy Love Sr., 66, and Jada Love, 10 -- suffered minor injuries in the fire.
Relatives said the fire started when someone inside was trying to fill a kerosene space heater at about 2 a.m. Jimmy Love Sr. went through the home trying to get people out.
Two Indianapolis police officers -- David Siefker and Stephen Gorgievski -- pulled an unconscious Williamson out of the home through a bedroom window, officials said.
Jacqueline Love was the sister of an Indianapolis firefighter, said Fire Chief James Greeson.
"It's tragic, but it's even more tragic in this particular case because it's one of our family," Greeson said.
"He died peacefully. It gives my heart comfort," said Keisha Nickolson, Maye's granddaughter. "He probably died from smoke inhalation. I just want to encourage the public that if you need heating assistance, if you need a way to make sure that you are taken care of, get that done."
Fire investigators said the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
The family was using the kerosene heater because they had gotten behind on their gas bill and that has had been shut off in the home for about three years.
"They were good people -- struggled, but they made it," a friend, Jerome Taylor, said. "It's sad."
