Four children died Friday in an early-morning apartment fire north of Cincinnati.
Butler County Coroner Dr. Richard Burkhardt identified the victims as Donrico Moss, 6, and Marquis Reed, 9, both boys, and two girls, Marlasha Reed, 8, and Marquinda Reed, 9, Cincinnati television station WLWT reported.
He said it appears they died of smoke inhalation, but tests and autopsies were pending.
Two other children, a 5-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy, were treated and released from Children's Hospital in Cincinnati.
Witnesses said a man also was in the apartment but escaped. No information was known about him.
The blaze started in an apartment at the Neilan Park Apartments on Hurm Street shortly after midnight.
Hamilton Assistant Fire Chief Pete Trautwine said the second-floor apartment was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived at the scene, with flames shooting 20 feet into the air.
Officials said a bystander started pulling some of the children out before firefighters arrived on the scene.
When fire crews arrived, three people were outside the building. Firefighters pulled the other victims out of the apartment.
The fire was confined to one of the six units in the apartment building, but there was smoke damage to others.
At one point, dispatchers called for assistance from three different townships. By about 2 a.m., fire crews appeared to have the blaze under control, though the building was still smoking.
Officials have not said yet what might have started the blaze.
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