KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) -- A fire sparked by an overloaded electrical circuit ripped through a home with no smoke detectors Thursday, killing two young sisters and their step-aunt and hospitalizing their 19-month-old brother, police said.
The children's parents, another sister and their uncle escaped the blaze, which started around 7 a.m., Lt. John Morrissey said.
The fire started in the living room, where the family had plugged an air conditioner, television, cable box and VCR into one outlet, Morrissey said. That outlet started the fire.
The 21-year-old step-aunt, Theresa Lopez, died at the fire scene. Five-year-old DeShyria Body and her 11-year-old sister, Destini Evans, died at the hospital, police said.
Firefighters removed the girls' 19-month-old brother, Chauncey Body Jr., from the home and revived him, Morrissey said. The infant was hospitalized with extremely critical injuries.
The girls' 8-year-old sister, DeJanee Body, smelled smoke and woke up her father, Chauncey Body Sr., Morrissey said. The father raced to a neighbor's house to call for help because the fire prevented him from reaching the phone.
When he got back to the house, his wife and their 8-year-old daughter were outside, Morrissey said. The father tried to go back into the house for the other children but couldn't because of the flames and smoke.
Firefighters from a station just up the street got there within three minutes of the call but found the front of the home in flames and smoke in the rest of the home, Battalion Fire Chief Mat Haerter said.
They rescued the uncle, Edward Body, from the roof of the porch, Morrissey said. They found the two sisters and the infant in the same bedroom and the step-aunt sitting in a chair in the living room, he said.
''It's an absolute tragedy,'' Morrissey said, noting people can pick up free smoke detectors at any city fire station. ''That very well may have saved some lives here.''
