‘Tremendous loss’: Children die in Connecticut house fire

Multiple children were killed in a house fire in Connecticut on Tuesday night, officials said.

“It’s a tremendous tragedy. It’s going to take us a long time to get over this,” First Selectman Tim Keeney told reporters.

According to News 8, four children ages 5, 6, 8 and 12 died.

The Somers Fire Department declined to comment or confirm who died to USA TODAY on Wednesday.

Keeney said at least four different fire departments responded.

Authorities responded to the fire just after 10:20 p.m. in Somers, a town around 25 miles from Hartford, Connecticut, State Trooper First Class Pedro Muñiz wrote in an email to USA TODAY. The Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit and Eastern District Major Crime Squad also arrived by request, according to Muñiz.

Keeney said officials found the house “engulfed in flames.” First responders struggled to enter the building because the doors were blocked, he said.

“It’s a tremendous loss for the town,” he added.

Keeney said the elementary and middle schools attended by the children had been notified.

The identities of the victims will not be released until autopsies are performed, Muñiz said. An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.

Connecticut State Sen. John Kissel called the children’s deaths “absolutely heartbreaking” in a statement shared with USA TODAY.

“Our prayers go out to the victims, to their loved ones, to the fire personnel, and to everyone in Somers,” he wrote. “This is such a tragedy, and as a state, we grieve collectively.”