Five children, two adults killed in Akron house fire

AKRON, Ohio — Authorities have confirmed that seven people — including five children — died in a house fire early Monday in the city’s Sherbondy Hill neighborhood, saying it was one of the deadliest residential fires in the community’s history.

The cause of the blaze at the two-story home remains under investigation.

The house, which was gutted, was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived at the scene after 2:46 a.m. The entire front of the house andporch were charred.

Fire Chief Clarence Tucker said it was unclear whether there were working smoke alarms inside.

Officials at the scene declined to release the identities of the victims, but the victims were unofficially identified as Dennis Huggins and Angela Boggs, who both owned the home, and children Cameron Huggins, 1; Alivia Huggins, 3; Kylle Huggins, 5; Daisia Huggins, 6; and Jered Boggs, 14. Fire officials said the bodies still need to be positively identified through dental records.

Earlier in the day, authorities had said two adults and several children lived at the house.

There had been confusion early on about how many bodies were inside the house because the floor was unstable and fire investigators weren’t able to enter the home.

Fire officials also were receiving conflicting numbers from family members and neighbors about how many peoplewere living there.

Authorities had said the ages of the people who could have been in the house ranged from 1 to 38 years old.

Two women, apparently family members, rolled up to the fire scene about 1:30 p.m. They jumped out of the car and began sobbing.

After talking to a fire investigator, they both started calling family members, crying as they relayed the sad news.

The fire is being investigated by Akron firefighters, city police and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Bob Sharp from the State Fire Marshal’s Office said he collected evidence and used a K-9 at the scene. There is no set timeline for the investigation.

The three-bedroom home had been appraised at $30,430, according to Summit County property tax records.

Mayor Dan Horrigan issued a statement just before noon expressing his condolences also praised firefighters for quickly responding to the scene.