3 young children die in mobile home fire
Their parents and a fourth child were injured in the blaze in the central New York community of Rome.
ROME, N.Y. » A fast-moving fire destroyed a family’s central New York mobile home, killing three young children and injuring a fourth child and their parents, authorities said Tuesday.
State police said Oneida County 911 dispatchers received a call late Monday night reporting the fire in the city of Rome, between Syracuse and Utica. Intense flames had engulfed the home of Patrick and Gabrielle Croad by the time emergency crews arrived, troopers said.
Troopers on Tuesday identified the dead children as 2-year-old Temprince, 3-year-old Patrick III and 4-year-old Elise.
The fourth child, 1-yearold Kaydence, was being treated at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse for burns to both arms, troopers said.
The parents were taken to the same hospital. Patrick Croad, 25, was being evaluated, while his 24-year-old wife, Gabrielle, was being treated for second-degree burns, police said.
The cause of the blaze was being investigated. Fire officials told the Rome Sentinel there was no indication of arson.
Officials said smoke detectors in the mobile home woke the parents, who managed to escape out a back door with the infant. Patrick and Gabrielle Croad tried to go back in through the front door to reach their three other children, but the fire was too intense, officials said.
When firefighting crews arrived the home was engulfed in flames.
“The fire was of such magnitude that it was impossible to enter the trailer,” Rome Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Iacovissi told the newspaper.
Firefighters doused the flames in about 15 minutes. The bodies of the three children were found in their bedrooms, officials said.