Dec. 21, 2012 --A six-year-old boy died Thursday morning and his parents and three sisters were seriously injured when fire raced through their home in Clearfield.
The blaze apparently broke out just before 9 a.m. at the single story residence off Early Lane on Clearfield Hill.
The body of Edward Dale Pennington was found in a hallway of the burned out structure about 11 a.m.
Rowan County Coroner John Northcutt said the boy's remains were sent to the state medical examiner's office in Frankfort for an autopsy.
Lois Black, who lives across the street, said the mother and three daughters, all under 10 years of age, came to her home asking for help.
"They came to the back door and the little girls were screaming in pain," Black said. "The mother asked me to help her save her baby but I saw that the home was engulfed. As I called 911, I could hear all of them screaming for help."
The boy's father went back into the house in an effort to save him, according to Black.
Northcutt and Kentucky State Police Det. David Zimmerman are handling the investigation.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
The parents and daughters were transported to St. Claire Regional Medical Center.
The parents and two daughters then were transferred to the UK Medical Center and the other girl was moved to the Shriners Hospitals for Children--Cincinnati which has a pediatric burns unit.
A spokesperson at the Cincinnati hospital said a seven-year-old girl was in critical condition after being transferred from Morehead.
Black said that she knew the family well.
"We visited each other a lot," Black said. "They were sick a while back and I cooked them chicken and dumplings."
Black said her family helped with Christmas, finding a tree and baking food and even making ornaments for the kids.
It was announced Thursday afternoon that an account had been established at Whitaker Bank on behalf of the Pennington family.
MacKenzie Bates can be reached at [email protected] or by telephone at 784-4116.
Copyright 2012 - The Morehead News, Ky.
