LONEDELL, Mo. -- Flames quickly engulfed a house trailer early Sunday and killed a family of five, fire officials said.
'It was a complete family of a man, woman and three children,' said Capt. Kevin Zumwalt of the Town and County Fire Protection District. Zumwalt identified the victims as Raymond DeClue, 38; Susan, his 39-year-old wife, 39; two stepchildren, 23-year-old Tina Maxwell and 17-year-old Christopher Maxwell; and a 7-year-old son, Benjamin DeClue.
'They (victims) were found within 10 feet of each other in the middle of the trailer,' Zumwalt said.
No cause has been determined, Zumwalt said.
The fire occurred in the Westwoods subdivision, a lake development located off Missouri Highway FF just south off Missouri Highway 30 in the southeastern corner of Franklin County. That is about 35 miles southwest of St. Louis.
A neighbor called in the fire at 5:56 a.m. Sunday, Zumwalt said. The Town and County Fire Protection, which covers a 42-mile area in Franklin County, sent 25 people to fight the blaze in the double-wide mobile home, Zumwalt said.
The roof already had collapsed when the first unit arrived on the scene and the trailer was fully engulfed in fire, said Zumwalt, who helped battle the blaze.
LONEDELL, Mo. -- Flames quickly engulfed a house trailer early Sunday and killed a family of five, fire officials said.
'It was a complete family of a man, woman and three children,' said Capt. Kevin Zumwalt of the Town and County Fire Protection District. Zumwalt identified the victims as Raymond DeClue, 38; Susan, his 39-year-old wife, 39; two stepchildren, 23-year-old Tina Maxwell and 17-year-old Christopher Maxwell; and a 7-year-old son, Benjamin DeClue.
'They (victims) were found within 10 feet of each other in the middle of the trailer,' Zumwalt said.
No cause has been determined, Zumwalt said.
The fire occurred in the Westwoods subdivision, a lake development located off Missouri Highway FF just south off Missouri Highway 30 in the southeastern corner of Franklin County. That is about 35 miles southwest of St. Louis.
A neighbor called in the fire at 5:56 a.m. Sunday, Zumwalt said. The Town and County Fire Protection, which covers a 42-mile area in Franklin County, sent 25 people to fight the blaze in the double-wide mobile home, Zumwalt said.
The roof already had collapsed when the first unit arrived on the scene and the trailer was fully engulfed in fire, said Zumwalt, who helped battle the blaze.
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